Egmore is one of the oldest and largest assembly constituencies in Chennai. Formed in 1957, the constituency is home to several important government buildings such as the Egmore Railway Station, Egmore Museum and Connemara Library. It is one of the busiest transportation hubs in Chennai. Egmore and Chetpet areas still retain some of the infrastructure constructed in the colonial period.
Minority communities constitute a major part of the demography here. The main areas are Besant Nagar, Thattankulam, Choolai, Park Town, Purasawalkam, Gangadeeswarar Koil, Kilpauk South, Anbazhagan Nagar, Perumalpet, Kannappar Nagar, Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Chetpet and Egmore.
Read more: Why a visit to Egmore museum fascinates and saddens us at the same time
Egmore is also a strong foothold of the DMK party. The constituency has had DMK MLAs since 1967 except in two assembly elections. In 1980, Congress came to power here, and the DMDK was elected in 2011.
Votes cast (2016)
- Total number of voters: 119623 (excluding postal votes)
- Male Voters: 61745
- Female voters: 57871
- Third gender: 7
- Polling percentage: 63.01%
2016 Election Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage of votes polled (As per ECI website) |
| DMK | Ravichandran K S | 55,060 | 45.64 |
| AIADMK | Parithi Ellamvazhuthi E | 44,381 | 36.79 |
| BJP | Venkatesan M | 7,159 | 5.93 |
| DMDK | Prabhu T | 6,321 | 5.24 |
| NOTA | None of the above | 2,840 | 2.35 |
Source: ECI
Incumbent MLA Profile
- Name: Ravichandran K S
- Party: DMK
- Age: 45
- Address: Old No 21/1, New No 13/1, Subba Naidu St, Choolai, Chennai- 600112
- Contact Number: 98400 22250, 97104 22250
- Profession: Lawyer
- Victory Margin: 10679
- No. of Criminal Cases: 1
In the news
- In March last year, Egmore MLA Ravichandran was in the news when the Greater Chennai Corporation identified 28700 buildings on land without patta. The MLA stated that the over 1,000 houses in the neighbourhoods of his constituency do not have patta and that he has been demanding patta for these residents for the last 4 years.
- Last November, when cyclone Nivar hit the city, residents of 58 localities complained of water stagnation due to encroachments on drains and water bodies. The MLA was quoted as saying that Poonamallee High Road needs better drain design to reduce water stagnation from Ega theatre to Ripon building, and only 20% of the drains had been desilted.
- Ravichandran was also in the spotlight last December when the central government team visited Vepery to assess the damage to civic infrastructure caused by flooding. The MLA said that the level of water on Alagappa Road had risen because of the collapse of the storm-water drain and that he had been asking Corporation officials for a new drain but to no avail.
Know your candidates this time
Ravichandran K S of the DMK won the 2016 elections, defeating Parithi Ellamvazhuthi E of AIADMK by a margin of 10,679 votes. However, the party ticket this time has gone to 44-year-old lawyer Paranthamen I. The 2016 AIADMK candidate, Parithi Ellamvazhuthi — who had joined the party after a long stint with the DMK and subsequently joined the AMMK — passed away after a heart attack in 2018 and the AIADMK has fielded an ally, controversial leader B John Pandian.
| Name | Party | Age | Education/Occupation | Criminal Cases |
| Paranthamen I | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 44 | Advocate/ BA, BL | Nil |
| John Pandian B | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 65 | Businessman/ MA | 2 pending, 0 convictions |
| Priyadarsini U | Makkal Needhi Maiam | 33 | Advocate/ B.Tech; LLB | Nil |
| Prabhu T | Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam | 40 | Business/ BA | Nil |
| Chandrakala J | Lok Jan Shakti Party | 42 | House wife/ Class 12 | Nil |
| Sheeja G | Nam India Naam Indiyar Katchi | 39 | Business/ BBA | Nil |
| Rajendran G R | Independent | 26 | Catering/ Class 10 | Nil |
| Uthayakumar M | Independent | 41 | Farmer/ B.A, B. Ped | Nil |
| Revanth R | Anaithu Makkal Arasilya Katchi | 26 | Trainer/ DCE | Nil |
| Sekar V | Independent | 44 | Farmer/ Class 10 | Nil |
| Jayakalpana S | Independent | 49 | Business/ Class 9 | Nil |
| Paranthaman A | Independent | 36 | Teacher/ MA; B.Ed | Nil |
| Eswaran V | Independent | 44 | Farmer/ Class 10 | Nil |
| Aravinth Kumar N | Independent | 29 | Farmer/ DECE | Nil |
| Gunasekar N | Independent | 31 | Social work/ B.Th | Nil |
| Prabhu V | Independent | 50 | Lawyer/ BA; LLB | Nil |
| Geeta Lakshmi | Naam Tamilar Katchi | 38 | Naturopath/ BPT | Nil |
| Sundaraprathaban K P | Bahujan Samaj Party | 74 | Electrician/ Class 8 | Nil |
Key issues
Traffic management is the biggest concern in the commercial areas of the constituency such as Pudupet.
Periamet, which falls under the Egmore constituency, is a well-developed transport hub, with the iconic Chennai Central located here. The foot over bridge connecting EVR Periyar Salai in Periamet and the Cooum River Bridge Road in Chintadripet is ill-maintained, with poor sanitation and lighting. Commuters and pedestrians wishing to get from one side to the other are thus forced to take a long detour: walk through EVR Periyar Salai till the Government College of Fine Arts intersection, Gandhi-Irwin Bridge Road, Egmore and through Krishnappa Chetty Street, Chintadripet.
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Several areas in the constituency are infamous for traffic congestion and water stagnation. During heavy rains when water stagnates, traffic near Ripon building comes to a halt. The zonal corporation officials and storm water drain officials have to start pumping out water. The residents complain that proper stormwater drains must be created to solve this issue.
Even though a few localities have taken up source segregation readily, waste management is still a pressing issue, especially in the low income areas. A resident near the F2 Police Station, Egmore said that the waste in and around the area is not properly disposed of. “I often see garbage overflowing, due to which there is a huge mosquito problem in our locality. The issue has been pending for so long, that we have learnt to live with it.”
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