Will BJP’s K Annamalai turn the saffron party’s fortunes in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore?

Overview of the Coimbatore Lok Sabha Constituency

Coimbatore is a Lok Sabha constituency in western Tamil Nadu. It is the Second largest city of Tamil Nadu and has the third largest Number of Voters after Sriperumbudur and Chennai South. 

The seat comprises 6 assembly seats and is one of the few districts in TN where the BJP enjoys considerable support. 

Currently represented in the parliament by CPI(M) leader P. R. Natarajan who was also elected from the same seat in 2009 but lost to AIADMK candidate P. Nagarajan in 2014 by a margin of only 42,000 votes. 

Strength Evaluation 

The INC, BJP and DMK have held power a few times on the seat owing to their erstwhile waves amid voter polarization, however the seat is a popular bastion for the communist ideology with first the CPI and later CPI(M) holding power for multiple terms. 

AIADMK took power in a yet unexpected battle in 2014 during the erstwhile BJP wave but was again shadowed down by the CPI(M). 

Vote Percentage Breakup for Coimbatore Constituency  ( 2009, 2014, 2019 )

The 2009 general elections saw the incumbent CPI(M) leader P. R. Natarajan taking up the leadership after he defeated his closest rival in the INC by a margin of less than 40,000 votes. However, the erstwhile BJP wave in 2014 benefited both the BJP, however affected the communists with Natarajan losing over 32% of his previous vote. BJP gained 29% vote but still lost to AIADMK by a margin of less than 45000 votes. 

The 2019 elections brought back P. R. Natarajan after he defeated his closest rival BJP’s C. P. Radhakrishnan by a margin of almost 1.7 lakh votes. 

Religious Demography 

Coimbatore population comprises 83% Hindu voters and around 8% Christian and Muslim voters. 

Coimbatore Fight: 2024

The state of Tamil Nadu has always been a tough spot for the center ruling party BJP. The BJP leadership in its attempt to pierce their announced 400 seat plan is looking to pick up a few seats in the southern seats including Tamil Nadu. 

Coimbatore is one of the seats which BJP is eyeing up. BJP candidate K Annamalai who is also the party president for the state is believed to be backed directly by the top BJP leadership. Moreover his stature as a former police official and an intellectual has put him on the national stage.

 He will be facing DMK’s Ganapathi P. Rajkumar who served as the mayor of Coimbatore from 2014 to 2016. 

Annamalai’s personal popularity can indeed help him defeat the DMK opposition and change things for the BJP in the state. 

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