Nilgiris Loksabha seat has mostly been a Congress Stronghold. The major communities represented here are Badagas, Thodas, Vokkaligars, Kongu Vellalars and of course many tribes. The seat covers a total of 6 assembly constituencies. Avinashi, Mettupalayam and Bhavanisagar in the Plains and Ooty, Coonoor and Gudalur in the Nilgiris. The Bhavanisagar seat has recently replaced Thondamuthur which traditionally has had a large voter turnout ratio.
This has happened in the recent reshaping of this constituency. The seat has also become a SC/ST seat since 2009 as part of the Election Commission’s rotation plan. It is however not clear as to how long this seat will remain a reserved seat however the seat has had some fundamental change recently. The initial election was a cakewalk for Mr.Ramalingam Chettiyar who constested the election without any opposition, however there were candidates from the Nilgiris such as Akamadevi and Master Mathan from Nilgiris and Candidates like Mr.Prabhu and Mr.S.R.Balasubramaniam from Coimbatore who contested this seat and secured victory.Until 1977, there candidates were almost always from the Nilgiriis, howevers since the victory of Mr.P.S.Ramalingam from Mettupalayam, the seat has been won by candidates from the Plains except in 1998 and 1999 by the BJP Candidate Mr.Master Mathan. Mr.A.Raja, the current MP is the first to win the seat from outside the Nilgiris and Coimbatore District, and hence the note of change. The current MP Mr.A.Raja occupies an important portfolio in this country at an important phase in India’s growth and is expected there will be more done ever in this constituency in his term (2009 – ). As the statistics reflect Mr.R.Prabhu from the Congress has by far been the most successful candidate in this seat, however his loss in Coimbatore raises a doubt in the Nilgiris about this success even if the seat were to be contested by the Congress next time.
Data Source : Election Commission of India.