With more than 9 lakh voters, Villivakkam constituency was once the largest constituency in Asia. The constituency was delimited in 2008 to create Ambattur, Maduravoyal, Kolathur, Madhavaram and Virugambakkam constituencies.
This time, the incumbent MLA B Ranganathan (DMK) has not been offered a seat. The grandson of veteran Dravidian politician K Anbazhagan, A Vetriazhagan will be contesting on a DMK ticket against AIADMK’s JCD Prabhakar. Fondly known as Perasiriyar (professor), K Anbazhagan was General Secretary of DMK for over four decades and a close confidant of former CM M Karunanidhi. He passed away in March 2020 at the age of 97.**
In the past, Prabhakar had contested from the same constituency in 2011 and won against Anbazhagan by a close margin.
A majority of the voters in Villivakkam constituency are employees of industrial estates in and around the locality, and the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur. Some of the areas in the constituency are Balaramapuram, Nehru Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Annai Sathiya Nagar, North Thirumalai Nagar, SIDCO Nagar, Baba Nagar and Thirunagar.
Votes cast (2016)
- Total number of voters: 150116
- Male Voters: 75962
- Female voters: 73195
- Third gender: 1
- Postal votes: 958
- Polling percentage: 59.89
2016 election results
B. Ranganathan (DMK) won by a margin of 9,321 votes.
| CANDIDATE | PARTY | VOTES | Percentage of votes polled (As per ECI website) |
| B. Ranganathan | DMK | 65,400 | 43.96 |
| M. Raju | AIADMK | 56,436 | 37.75 |
| T. Pandiyan | DMDK | 8,202 | 5.49 |
| M. Jaishankar | BJP | 6,399 | 4.29 |
| V. Subrahmanian | PMK | 4,171 | 2.79 |
| A. Vagai Venthan | NTK | 3,386 | 2.27 |
| K.M. Sucharitha | YSP | 950 | 2 |
Source: ECI
Incumbent MLA
- Name: B. Ranganathan
- S/o|D/o|W/o: R.Bakthavachalu
- Age: 65
- Address: 37/13, First Main Road, Jawahar Nagar, Chennai-82
- Name Enrolled as Voter in: Kolathur (Tamil Nadu) constituency, at Serial no 1145 in Part no 107
- Email:14branga@gmail.com
- Contact Number: 044 2670 1133
- Self Profession: Business
In the news
In 2019, the civic body had called for tenders for laying three roads in Villivakkam which was estimated to cost over Rs 50 lakh. Mani, a contractor, had stopped another contractor from quoting his bid. Mani alleged that the incumbent MLA Ranganathan had promised the contract.
In 2019, when a bill seeking the extension of the time of special officers in local bodies was moved in the state assembly, MLA Ranganathan opposed the bill and added that several welfare schemes could not be implemented due to the absence of local body representatives. He added that the government was not ready to conduct the polls due to vested interests.
Know your candidates this time
| S. No | Name | Party | Age | Education/Occupation | Criminal Cases |
| 1 | A Vetriazhagan | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 40 | Provision of services (primary education)/B.E, MBA | Nil |
| 2 | JCD Prabhakar | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 68 | Advocate/BA, BL | Nil |
| 3 | Sriharan T | Makkal Needhi Maiam | 30 | Business/DTT | Nil |
| 4 | G Devapriyan | Independent | 44 | Business/BL | Nil |
| 5 | R Sridar | Naam Tamilar Katchi | 49 | Advocate/BL | Nil |
| 6 | M Murali Vinodh | Independent | 37 | Advocate/BA, BL | Nil |
| 7 | G Iyanar | Independent | 46 | Advocate/BL | Nil |
| 8 | D Subamangalam | Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam | 42 | Fishmonger/Class 10 | Nil |
| 9 | Syed Rayhan | Independent | 50 | Advocate/BL | Nil |
| 10 | L Govindaraj | Nam India Naam Indiyar Katchi | 40 | Advocate/B.E, BL | Nil |
| 11 | C A Ashok Kumar | Independent | 50 | Advocate/M.L | Nil |
| 12 | M Gunasekaran | Independent | 59 | Advocate/BA, BL | Nil |
| 13 | Jagadesh Jayakumar | Valamaana Tamizhagam Katchi | 41 | Street food vendor/Class 12 | Nil |
| 14 | S Raju Bharathi | Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi | 63 | Car driver/B.Sc | Nil |
| 15 | S Baskar | Independent | 32 | NA | NA |
| 16 | C Mohan | Independent | 58 | Autodriver/Class 8 | Nil |
| 17 | M Jalal | Independent | 40 | Mutton butcher/Class 9 | Nil |
| 18 | A S Kumar | Independent | 64 | Business/class 9 | Nil |
| 19 | S Baskar | Independent | 64 | Business/class 6 | Nil |
| 20 | S Chandrika | Independent | 51 | Salaried/M.A, M.Phil | Nil |
| 21 | S Kandasamy | Independent | 56 | Business/Class 10 | Nil |
| 22 | C Raghul | Independent | 29 | Salaried/Class 11 | Nil |
| 23 | A Palanivel | Bahujan Samaj Party | 46 | Real estate/Class 5 | Nil |
| 24 | A Ajith Kumar | Independent | 26 | Tax consultant/MSW | Nil |
Source: ECI. To know more about the candidates, check their affidavits here.
Read more: Not just Villivakkam Lake, apartments and malls too can benefit from our technology: BARC scientist
Key issues
- Every monsoon, Villivakkam residents battle with the problem of flooding. “Baba Nagar got flooded even during the rains we received recently. Since it is a low-lying locality, an integrated stormwater drainage system has been sanctioned. We hope to have a flood-free monsoon going forward,” says Theagarajan of Baba Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association.
- In many parts of Villivakkam, the underground drainage system was constructed several decades ago but has not been taken up for restoration or alteration of structure. For instance, the drains in SIDCO Nagar, Agathiyar Nagar and Thiru Nagar were constructed 40 years ago. “The sewerage pipes should be widened, as the population has gone up exponentially since the drains were constructed,” says Elango P of Thiru Nagar.
- Residents continue to battle even for basic facilities like a post office. “The postal department has been offered a place for setting up a post office in SIDCO Nagar. Currently, the postal department functions out of a rented building in Villivakkam market. On behalf of residents, we have even verified the legal documents for expediting the shifting process, but it has not materialised yet. Senior citizens are unable to travel and there are not many counters available at the center,” says S Gajendran – general secretary, SIDCO Nagar Senior Citizens Welfare Association.
- Residents of SIDCO Nagar had a community hall until recently. The facility was taken up for installing an Amma drinking water plant, which was shut down within a few months. “Now the hall lies useless. It can at least be converted into an Amma Clinic that will be beneficial for many residents,” adds Gajendran.
** Errata: DMK candidate A Vetriazhagan was wrongly mentioned as the grandson of former Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni MLA J Anbazhagan, whereas he is actually related to DMK General Secretary the late K Anbazhagan. The inadvertent error is regretted.
Also read:
It’s not J Anbazhagan, it’s K Anbazhagan!!
And he didn’t die due to Corona!
Thank you, Sir, for pointing out the error. It has since been corrected and an Errata has been added.