Is Coimbatore The Hottest Battleground In This Election?

Probably, no candidate, no constituency and no state has made this kind of a news in previous elections as has  Coimbatore in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections . With reams of reviews and bundles of money wagered and spent, Coimbatore has stood out like a starburst in the very first phase. The moment meteor Malai, Annamalai was named as BJP’s candidate, all six assembly segments went into a tizzy. Sulur, Palladam, Kavundanpalayam are seen as pocket boroughs of the DMK and its alter ego, the AIADMK. Singanallur, Coimbatore North and CBE South are distinct urban strongholds, with overriding corporates and educated elite, and these three segments worked non-stop for Annamalai — 28,000 volunteers, vetted and conscripted worked for him. DMK, on its part, convinced its ally CPM to move over, and allow its candidate Ganapati Rajkumar to contest against Annamalai.  Despite all the hype, the ground reality was that the BJP had very few booth level managers/workers, they had to “import” rank outsiders. Interestingly, all opinion polls and surveys seem to be specially focussed on Annamalai’s Coimbatore constituency and the entire state. And most of them indicate Annamalai has an edge but there is no gain saying the fact that he has emerged as a dominant force in Tamil Nadu politics. This David has age on his side so can vanquish the aging Goliaths to eventually emerge the victor.