Perambalur Lok Sabha Elections: Will Newbie Arun Nehru Keep the DMK Sun Shining in Stronghold?

Perambalur is one of 39 Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu. It is a General category seat and comprises parts of Karur, Perambalur, and Tiruchirappalli (Tiruchi or Trichy) districts. Since 2009, six Assembly segments fall under the Perambalur Lok Sabha constituency — Kulithalai, Lalgudi, Manachanallur, Musiri, Thuraiyur (SC) and Perambalur (SC).

Sitting MP – TR Paarivendhar (Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi/DMK)

Candidates — KN Arun Nehru (DMK), ND Chandra Mohan (AIADMK), TR Paarivendhar (Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi under BJP symbol)

Political Dynamics

The DMK currently holds all six seats in the LS following its sweep of the state in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

• The predominantly rural constituency of Perambalur will witness a triangular contest between Dravidian giants DMK and AIADMK as well as the BJP-Indhiya Jananayaka Katchi alliance.
• So far, the DMK has won the Perambalur constituency six times, AIADMK has won it five times. The Congress emerged victorious twice and the CPI once.
• DMK: The ruling DMK has fielded KN Arun Nehru here. The 40-year-old is the son of Municipal Administration Minister and DMK’s Tiruchy strongman KN Nehru.
• Arun Nehru is fighting his first-ever election this time. The scion of ‘southern India’s Nehru family’ reportedly had a choice to contest from either Perambalur or Trichy but chose the former.
• The Perambalur constituency is considered to be the stronghold of the DMK. Former Union telecom minister A Raja won from here in 1996, 1999 and 2004. In 2009, actor-politician D Napoleon won the seat on a DMK ticket.
• The DMK was unseated here by the AIADMK in the 2014 elections. But in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, IJK founder TR Paarivendhar (the current NDA candidate) won this seat on the DMK symbol.
• This time, however, the sitting MP is contesting on the BJP symbol, making it a three-cornered fight in the constituency.
• Arun Nehru may be relatively new in electoral politics but among the factors that work in his favour is the fact that Lalgudi, which falls in Perambalur constituency, is the hometown of his father. Like most father-son duos this season, Arun Nehru’s campaign is being steered by his father KN Nehru.
• Reports say KN Nehru himself prepared the campaigning schedule for his son. KN Nehru reportedly kicks off his campaign at 6:30am on the dot each morning and works till 10pm, taking short breaks only for meals.
• The young gun has in the past received praise from DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and now from Chief Minister MK Stalin for extensive groundwork.
• When he filed his nomination papers to contest the upcoming elections, Arun Nehru put up a show of strength and was accompanies by the DMK MLAs of all six Assembly seats that fall under the Perambalur Lok Sabha constituency.
• Arun Nehru, who claims to be an industrialist, has announce employment generation schemes in Perambalur as his top priority if elected.
• DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had chosen to kick-off the party’s Lok Sabha campaign from Trichy to target both Perambalur and Tiruchirappalli seats.
• AIADMK: The AIADMK is fielding ND Chandra Mohan in Perambalur. The 51-year-old is the nephew of former minister, the late N Selvaraj, who had significant influence in the region. Selvaraj had joined the AIADMK in the twilight of his political career.
• The prime factor Chandra Mohan hopes would work in his favour is his caste since Mutharaiyars are the decisive factors here.
• The second advantage he claims to have been the association with the late Selvaraj. His aides and supporters have been reminding of their familial bond every chance they get.
• Chandra Mohan is a dark horse pick, a decision that highlights the gravity of the elections for AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami as he tries to cement his position in Dravidian politics two years before Assembly election.
• BJP: Contesting on the BJP symbol this time is sitting MP and IJK founder TR Paarivendhar. He is the founder-chairman of the SRM Group of Institutions. This is the 82-year-old’s third election from the Perambalur constituency.
• He had contested on the DMK’s rising sun symbol in the 2019 elections and had won by a wide margin of around 4 lakh votes.
• Significantly older than his DMK and AIADMK challengers, Paarivendhar hasn’t let his age slow down his campaign. Along with his campaign team, he covers several villages a day.
• Given his association with the SRM Group of Institutions, Paarivendhar has in his latest tenure provided 300 students from the constituency free higher education. The sitting MP has exhausted the Rs 17.5 crore allocated to Perambalur under the MPLAD scheme and claimed to have spent additionally out of his own pocket.
• The BJP has never been able to win the Perambalur seat but hopes to turn around its fortunes with Paarivendhar this time. With ground reports not indicating any major anti-incumbency against the sitting MP, it clearly has a shot at winning.
• Caste Calculations: Mutharaiyars are the dominant caste in the Perambalur constituency, giving an edge to AIADMK candidate Chandra Mohan who belongs to the community.
• DMK candidate Arun Nehru belongs to the Reddiar community and is banking on his family’s native connect to offset the caste calculations.
• IJK-BJP candidate Paarivendhar would look for support from his Udayar caste members who also count for significant numbers in the Perambalur constituency.
• Tiruchy Influence: Lalgudi, Mannachanallur, Musiri and Thuraiyur fall under Tiruchy, giving the district considerable influence in the election outcome. Out of the total of 13.24 lakh voters, around 8.40 lakh (63.44%) are from Tiruchy. Candidates who have close association with Tiruchy, thus, are at an advantage.
• Vulnerable booths & cash seizures: Of the 1,665 polling stations in Perambalur, 55 have been declared ‘vulnerable’ and one ‘critical’ after assessments by revenue and police officials.
• In March, flying squads seized around Rs 76.67 lakh in cash from various locations in the constituency. All the cash was seized after people in possession of it failed to produce relevant papers. The cash seizure was the highest in Kulithalai Assembly segment at Rs 26 lakh.

Key Constituency Issues

• Demand for Ariyalur-Namakkal Rail Line: The demand for a new Ariyalur-Namakkal railway line has been pending for decades. Successive MPs and candidates revive promises to get the line constructed in the next term, but each time the project fizzles out after the ‘survey’ stage.
• Locals have been demanding a new broad-gauge line stretching 108-km to connect Ariyalur with Namakkal, through Perambalur, Thuraiyur and Thathaiyengarpet. At present, the Chennai-Namakkal section services Katpadi, Jolarpet and Salem stations.
• If constructed, the new line would connect Chennai Egmore and Namakkal via Villupuram and Ariyalur.
• Local reporters say sitting MPs visit the Union Railway Minister before each election to show they are pushing hard for the line following which a survey is initiated with some amounts set aside for it, but nothing comes of the exercise.
• In 2018, the construction wing of the Southern Railways had carried out land survey with the Railway Board communicating to the Southern Railway that Rs 16.5 lakh had been sanctioned for the survey. The project did not move beyond this stage.
• The main reason why the project has been a non-starter is concerns over whether the costs can be recovered once the route is operational. While there is massive demand for the Ariyalur-Namakkal line, the returns may not be able to cover the massive costs of laying down a new railway line. It’s easier to start a new train on existing tracks rather than lay down a new line altogether.
• The railway line is also crucial for the rural economy, which is largely dependent on shallots, cotton and maize.
• Shallot Farmers Struggling: The Perambalur district is known for its small onion, or shallot, cultivation. After boom in shallot procurement prices in November last year, several farmers who had switched to the onion variety are devastated now. As supply outweighed demand, procurement prices plummeted from Rs 70 per kg in November 2023 to Rs 10 per kg in January this year.
• According to the horticulture department, before November, the total crop acreage of shallots stood at around 1,000 hectares. But following the rise in procurement prices in August, the acreage in November zoomed to 3,500 hectares. Hardest hit were farmers in Nattarmangalam, Irur, Chettikulam and Bommanapadi areas.
• The Cauvery Padugai Farmers Federation has demanded that the Centre should fix the MSP for shallots and procure it when demand/prices slump. Farmer groups say setting up shallot storage and processing units here will help regulate the price fluctuations and ensure steady sales throughout the year.
• Barrages on Cauvery: Farmers in Kulithalai and Lalgudi areas of the constituency have been demanding that barrages be built on Cauvery and Kollidam rivers to harness rainwater and pump up the water table.
• Medical College/Research Centre: The DMK government under M Karunanidhi had promised in 2010 that it would set up a medical college hospital in Perambalur. 14 years later, the promise remains only on paper.
• Back then, the Andimuthu Chinnapillai Trust, dedicated to former Union minister A Raja’s parents, had donated 30 acres land around 9km from Perambalur in Othiyam to set up the college. The state government had then even created the Dean’s post for the ‘Perambalur Government Medical College’ and allotted space for it in the Collectorate premises.
• When the AIADMK wrested power from the DMK in 2011, the project was stalled. AIADMK leaders claimed the soil at the location selected by the DMK government was not ideal to construct and withstand a building.
• Since 2011, more than 15 medical colleges have been set up and made operational, but Perambalur residents continue to wait for one. After it returned to power in the state in 2021, the DMK government, this time under MK Stalin, said it tried to revive the project but didn’t get permission from the Centre.
• A Raja now says that if the DMK candidate in Perambalur constituency is voted to power, the party would bring an AIIMS or JIPMER kind of hospital and medical research centre to Perambalur.
• Accidents on Chennai-Tiruchy NH45: The Chennai-Tiruchy national highway sees heavy early morning traffic (3am to 5am) of commuters coming from Kanyakumari as well as those driving from Tirupathi and northern districts of Tamil Nadu.
• The Padalur-Valikandapuram stretch of this highway is an accident-prone zone, accounting for close to 30% of the 428 deaths in the district over two-and-a-half years.
• The nearest government hospital is 20km away — the government headquarters hospital in Perambalur — and there are no trauma centres or hospitals along or near the highway where accident victims can be given life-saving care.
• 4-Lane National Highway: The Cauvery Padugai Farmers Federation has also demanded that the Manapparai-Perambalur road be upgraded to a four-lane national highway to push economic development in the region.
• Water Scarcity: Locked by Cuddalore in the north, Ariyalur in the east, Namakkal in the west, and Tiruchy in the south, Perambalur is a water-starved region. The locals have been suffering frequent water shortages with numerous protests being held at various locations in the constituency demanding sufficient and regular water supply. Residents of Perali area in the Perambalur district have demanded that the central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission be implemented in their village.
• Tourism: Pachamalai in the Eastern Ghats and Puliyancholai on the foothills of Kolli Hills are popular among locals who say developing tourism facilities here for outstation visitors would boost local revenue. Some resident groups have also asked that the Forest Department hand over the road from Shobanapuram to Top Sengattupatti to the Highways Department which can maintain it from tourism perspective.
• Korai Mat Industry: Korai or straw mat makers from Musiri, which is home to several other cottage industries, have demanded that their products be exported.
• Dwindling Pottery Trade: The Perambalur district is home to around 400 potter families.
• Many of them say their livelihood and vocation needs saving but complain that successive candidates have ignored their pleas.
• This time too they have made representations and submitted letters to candidates in the fray. Among their demands is easier availability of clay and financial assistance during the rainy season. Some potters say modern appliances as well as waning interest among the youth in learning the art of pottery has reduced the 60-year-old trade to around 500 potters in the district.

Voter Demographics

Social composition

SC — 20.04%

ST — 0.58%

Religious composition

Buddhist — 0.01%

Christian — 6.59%

Jain — 0.02%

Muslim — 6.48%

Sikh — 0.01%

Major Infra Projects in Perambalur

• Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor Project: The CKIC is a 640-km project that links 14 industrial corridors across 23 districts in Tamil Nadu, including Perambalur.
• Thuraiyur-Perambalur Road Upgrade: In September 2022, the Thuraiyur-Perambalur road widening project under the Chennai-Kanyakumari industrial corridor project (CKICP) crore was completed by the highways department. The estimated cost was at Rs 132 crore. The 30km road between Thuraiyur in Trichy district and Perambalur district headquarters came as a relief to cement industries and shallot farmers reach the western districts of the state. Two new bypass roads were also constructed to skip congested Nakkasalem and Kurumbalur villages.
• Siruvachur Underpass: A new underpass constructed on the Chennai-Tiruchy national highway in Perambalur will soon open for traffic. The underpass is expected to solve the problem of bottlenecks and accidents at the Siruvachur junction. The National Highways Authority of India under the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways had sanctioned Rs 15 crore for the project. Vehicles heading to Chennai and Tiruchy can continue using the elevated road, while commuters heading to Siruvachur may use the underpass.
• Vilamuthur check dam: A check dam is being built across the Marudhaiyar River at Vilamuthur village in Perambalur district and is estimated to cost Rs 3.09 crore. It is expected to help improve the water table in the surrounding areas and benefit 665 acres of agricultural land. The dam will also help stabilize irrigation to 341 acres, and another 300 acres of agricultural land will indirectly benefit from the expected increase in groundwater table. The dam can hold 3.178 million cubic feet of water, and through three expected fillings a year, it could harvest about 9.534 million cubic feet of water.
• Check Dam Across Porkuni in Ladapuram: In February this year, the Water Resources Department (WRD) laid the foundation stone for a check dam across the Porkuni river in Ladapuram area of Perambalur district. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.76 crore.
• Crocs Manufacturing Unit: Chief Minister MK Stalin had last year inaugurated a non-leather footwear park in Perambalur which has made its name for manufacturing crocs. It is generating employment for around 5,000 people, especially women.