Tamil Nadu: Views on Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli is likely to see a keenly fought tri-polar contest between the INC, BJP and ADMK. Both the INC and ADMK candidates belong to the Nadar community while the BJP candidate belongs to the Mukkulathor community. The BJP candidate (Nainar Nagendran) is a MLA in the current assembly and has contested many elections before for both assembly and LS. There is speculation on whether local DMK leaders will wholeheartedly campaign for the INC candidate, given that many of them have been sidelined by the decision to allot the seat to the INC. Annamalai’s yatra, the PM’s rallies and polling data from other opinion polls seem to suggest a sharp rise in support for the BJP in Southern Tamil Nadu. Further, I expect a smooth vote transfer from AMMK to the BJP in 2024. (60,000 votes in 2019)