Voters in Coimbatore South prioritise cleanliness and safety

Coimbatore South Assembly constituency, which will see a four-pronged contest on April 23, covers some of the main commercial hubs and prime residential neighbourhoods of Coimbatore city.

Spread across 10 Corporation wards, the constituency was won by the AIADMK in 2011 and 2016, and by the BJP in 2021.

Ajjay Marshal, political intelligence analyst, says the constituency has Kongu Vellalla Gounders (22-28%), Scheduled Caste (12.75 %), Muslims (8-10%), Naidus (8-12%), Christians (5-7%) and Chettiars (4-6%) among the major voters. “The stable duopoly is dead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 wave, K.A. Sengottaiyan’s defection to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in 2025, the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam of the DMK government, and actor Vijay’s celebrity disruption have scrambled every alignment that held good for decades,” he says.

“Coimbatore south is a cosmopolitan area and what matters to the electorate here is more related to infrastructure and businesses,” contended an industrialist who did not want to be identified.

While almost 60 % of the infrastructure demands placed by industry associations of Coimbatore have been met in the last 10 years, there are specific requirements of the main areas that need the focus of the elected representative.

The Sukrawarpet-Raja Street area has almost 35,000 goldsmithies. The DMK government has laid foundation for a jewellery park that will house 350 units. “Power cost is a major issue for us. It has not been addressed by the State government. Another demand is for collateral-free loans and that has not been met by the Central government,” said a goldsmith.

In Race Course and Ramnagar areas, security and safety concerns have increased with a few incidents in the last 10 days. Lack of cleanliness in Ramnagar, traffic congestions and unregulated crowds in the Race Course are among the issues raised by the residents in these areas. There is also a need to create specific areas for street vendors in the residential areas.

Rajendran, a wholesale onion trader at TK Market, said that close to 30,000 people use the market every day, visiting the 1,000 vegetable shops or 50 grocery outlets. If the market is modernised, many of the existing small vegetable traders will be affected. “There is no drinking water facility in the market. Tolls are collected from the vendors under multiple heads, apart from the rent,” he said.

The contamination of water bodies and the poor maintenance of sewage treatment plants are among the major issues in the constituency.