It was just 137 votes that stood between DMK’s J Karunanithi and AIADMK’s B Sathyanarayanan in the 2021 Assembly elections at T Nagar — the tightest victory margin in the entire State. With TVK’s Bussy Anand, one of Vijay’s top lieutenants now thrown into the mix, this retail hub in Chennai is set for a puzzling contest.
A stronghold within Chennai, AIADMK won in the constituency three consecutive times — 2006, 2011 and 2016 — and the DMK’s knife-edge victory in 2021 was considered a setback. This time around, DMK has done away with sitting MLA Karunanithi and brought in Raja Anbazhagan, a prominent face in the party’s youth wing for T Nagar. AIADMK, for its part, has persisted with Sathyanarayanan, though not without significant protests from the BJP, which had sought the constituency itself.
Unlike more sub-urban neighbourhoods of Chennai, T Nagar’s poll issues are predominantly centred around civic infrastructure. Its population of elderly long-time residents, retail business owners and white collar working population, tends to place less emphasis on welfare schemes and more on day-to-day civic issues such as traffic congestion, parking, encroachments and waste management.
Infra issues
Both candidates who spoke to businessline emphasised that local infrastructure development issues are central to their poll promises. On the sidelines of his walking campaign at the neighbourhood’s Jeeva Park, Sathyanarayanan emphasised that beyond just building new facilities, it is also important to maintain the ones that exisiting ones. “All major roads and pathways we built as part of the smart city project have been rendered useless because of the encroachments facilitated by the current DMK leadership,” he said. He added that parks in the neighbourhood have not been maintained and are unusable.
On his priorities once elected, the former MLA said he will ensure that all current facilities are renovated and maintained. “We will also convert one of the major higher secondary schools into a college,” he said. Meanwhile, in a telephonic conversation, Anbazhagan mentioned that a 21 km of rainwater drainage facility was built in the last five years, which has helped reduce flooding significantly in the area. “In 1-2 years after the metro construction is completed, we will be able to transform the neighbourhood into the best residential area in the city,” he stressed.
He also ensured plans to renovate and maintain the 40-crore multi-level parking facility built to decongest the area which, according to residents, was underused and partly dysfunctional. “It has become impossible to drive through some of the main roads here,” a resident told businessline. She says that despite dedicated areas for street vendors, many continue to linger on the sides of the roads, worsening the traffic situation.
rise in crime
She also highlighted a marked increase in crime and anti-social elements over the recent years. Another resident pointed out to the significant improvements in water management in the area. “Earlier, like every other area, flooding was a persistent issue every year. In the past couple of years, there has been some repair work, especially on the roads,” he said. He also mentioned the traffic improvements from some of the new roadworks, but reiterated the encroachment issue was a major roadblock in alleviating congestion.
On Bussy Anand’s chances in the constituency, both Anbazhagan and Sathyanarayan suggested that Anand has no connection to T Nagar which voters are aware of. “If someone like Vijay campaigned in Nagar, there could be a chance given his image and popularity. Bussy Anand is a nobody. No one here is aware of him or what his plans for development are,” said Anbazhagan.
“I have not even seen him in TNagar. It is not even sure he has started his campaign yet,” said another resident.
Published on April 10, 2026