N. Veerasamy, Vijaya Thayanban and H.V. Hande. — Photos: Vino John, M. Vedhan and N. Sridharan

CHENNAI: Anna Nagar, the biggest constituency in the Chennai district has 3.50 lakh voters.

The constituency has remained `DMK fortress' since 1977 except in 1991 when the Congress candidate Chellakumar won it.

In the last two terms, N. Veerasamy, the DMK treasurer, won the seat.

A mixture of both middle and upper-middle class dominate the locality, though there are also a few slums located along the banks of the Cooum river. A well-planned layout, Anna Nagar has in the past gained the reputation of being one of the better-maintained residential areas in Chennai.

Commercialisation

However, increased commercialisation has led to several problems for the local people including, parking, frequent power cuts as well as inadequate water supply.

Though there is a growing discontent among the middle and upper-middle classes, elected representatives have by and large concentrated on the slums.

N. Veerasamy, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate, contesting for the third time, says he has solved most of the important civic problems in his constituency.

Laying underground cables, relaying roads, construction of stormwater drains, installing two new substations and 30 new transformers to reduce frequent power failures have been carried out by him, claims Mr. Veerasamy.

With the MLA Constituency Development Fund, repair works in Slum Board tenements were taken up and additional classrooms were constructed in two schools, he says pointing to his achievements that will help him retain the seat.

Improving roads

"Improving roads and providing an alternative to the Nungambakkam subway is my priority," says MDMK candidate, Vijaya Thayanban. Some of the areas such as MGR Colony, Maduvankarai were marooned during the floods last year. Stormwater drains in these areas needed to be improved to avoid water logging. The BJP candidate, H.V. Hande, who is contesting in Anna Nagar for the second time after 26 years, says it is a straight fight between him and Mr. Veerasamy.

Bad roads, poor sanitation, water scarcity, inadequate bus services, frequent power cuts are some of the major problems. Mr. Veerasamy never raised these issues in the Assembly, Dr. Hande says.

"If elected, I will hold meetings with local people once in two months to attend to civic and other problems," he notes.

Dr. Hande, a B.C. Roy awardee, feels that the elected representative should be accessible and he should have empathy towards the people's problems. He is bestowed with both these qualities and hence he is confident of winning this time, he adds.

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