Series: LS Elections 2019

Chennai North Parliamentary constituency comprises six assembly constituencies:  Royapuram, Kolathur, Thiruvottiyur, Perambur, Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar, Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar.  North Chennai has long faced neglect from the political establishment in the state as well as the centre, with development in terms of infrastructure and basic amenities found wanting in the predominantly working class areas that comprise the constituency. A total of 23 candidates are contesting from various political parties and as independents from Chennai North. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected 32 applications for the constituency for various reasons. According to the ECI website, the constituency has a…

Asaduddin Owaisi is an Indian politician, who is the President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). He is a three-time Member of Parliament (MP), representing the Hyderabad constituency in Lok Sabha. Owaisi made his political debut in 1994 in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. Contesting from the Charminar constituency which his party has been winning since 1967, he defeated his nearest rival, a breakaway party Majlis Bachao Tehreek's candidate, by a margin of 40 thousand votes. He succeeded Virasat Rasool Khan as the elected representative from the constituency. In the 1999 election, he defeated his nearest rival Telugu…

Chennai Central Parliamentary constituency is comprised of six assembly constituencies -- Villivakkam, Egmore (SC), Harbour, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar.   Chennai Central is a constituency of extremes: it has some of the city's richest localities such as Central and Anna Nagar, and within a few metres are the slum pockets of GH quarters and Aminjikarai. There is cultural diversity as well as the constituency sizeable Hindi and Urdu speaking population, apart from Telugus and Malayalis.  It also has a significant Muslim population of over 2 lakhs in Chepauk - Triplicane and Egmore assembly constituencies. Contestants therefore must come…

The National  Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 1266 out of 1279 candidates who are contesting the Lok Sabha Phase I. Out of the 1266 the candidates, 213 (17%) have declared criminal cases against themselves. 146 candidates have records of serious criminal cases, out of which 10 have declared cases related to murder. 401 of them are crorepati candidates. There are 13 candidates who have not been analysed due to unavailability of their properly scanned and complete affidavits, at the time of making this report. Criminal background   213(17%) out of 1266…

A second time MP, Dr Naramalli Sivaprasad is a versatile personality. A theatre-artist, actor, film producer and two-time MP from the Chittoor Constituency, Sivaprasad is known for dressing up as various characters in Parliament to draw attention to issues. Dressed on various occasions as characters as diverse as Adolf Hitler, Chatrapathi Shivaji and MG Ramachandran, the MP staged protests demanding special packages for Andhra Pradesh. While his appearances as a theatre artist have hogged headlines, his recorded attendance and engagement as Member of Parliament on the floor of the House leave much to be desired.  In the 2014 elections, Sivaprasad…

Dr Naramalli Sivaprasad, two-time Member of Parliament from Chittoor constituency is seeking a third term. A theatre artist turned politician, Dr Siva Prasad of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is more famous for his costumes and theatrics in Parliament, as he has been seen dressed up as various mythological and historical characters. His whirlwind campaign across Chittoor district drew a significant crowd, which both applauded and criticised his theatrics in Parliament. At the end of one such crowd pulling campaign, we met MP Sivaprasad for a chat on his plans for Chittoor city and where he wants to see it…

Bandaru Dattatreya is an Indian politician who has been a Member of the Lok Sabha for Secunderabad since 2014. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party that he joined in 1980. Dattatreya was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Secunderabad constituency in 1991. In 1999, Dattatreya was elected to the Lok Sabha for a third time. Between 1999 and 2001, he served as Union MoS for Urban Development in the third Vajpayee ministry. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Union MoS for Railways. In 2003, he was again given the Urban Development portfolio. In May…

With a red and black shawl over her shoulders and a warm smile, Thamizhachi Thangapandian walks the streets of Medavakkam on Tuesday, April 2 2019. She initiates a friendly conversation with the women, tastes the Kara Kuzhambu in one of the houses and listens attentively to their  problems. She assures that she will transform the locality if elected to power. A writer, poet and academician, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) camdidate Thamizhachi Thangapandian is fighting her first Lok Sabha election from Chennai South. She is campaigning vigorously -- both online and offline; her Facebook page is filled with updates about her…

T G Venkatesh Babu of the AIADMK was elected from Chennai North constituency as a first time MP in 2014.  In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Venkatesh Babu defeated Giri Rajan (DMK) by 99,704 votes. The constituency, with 1422392 voters, had 64.01% voter turnout in the 2014 elections, of which Venkatesh attained 44.06% votes.  T G Venkatesh Babu had risen through the ranks in the AIADMK party to secure a seat in the 16th Lok Sabha. A real estate businessman, he was the first AIADMK representative elected from the Chennai North constituency, which had been a DMK bastion through the…

Chennai South Parliamentary constituency comprises six assembly constituencies: Mylapore, Saidapet, Virugambakkam, Velachery, Sholinganallur and Theagaraya Nagar. It is a diverse constituency, with many contrasts: it has high-profile localities such as Sholinganallur, the IT hub of the state and lower socio-economic localities such as Nochikuppam in Mylapore assembly constituency. A total of 40 candidates are contesting from various political parties and as independents from Chennai South. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected 27 applications for the constituency, while two of them withdrew after filing the nominations. According to the ECI website, the constituency has a total of 19,73315 voters:…