One of the most developed areas in the heart of Chennai, the Thousand Lights Assembly segment reflects the city’s iconic past as well as its rapidly changing urban character.
The assembly segment includes parts of Teynampet and T. Nagar as well as Mahalingapuram, Trustpuram, Choolaimedu, Nungambakkam, Poes Garden, Parthasarathypuram and Gopalapuram, which are home to people from various socio-economic backgrounds. It is also home to several iconic places including Anna Flyover, Valluvar Kottam, Music Academy, Kalaignar Centenary Park, Semmozhi Poonga, St. George’s Cathedral and Thousand Lights Mosque.
Due to its key location, the Thousand Lights Assembly segment has long been the epicenter of lively political activity. The presence of headquarters of major political parties such as DMK, AIADMK, BJP, CPI and CPI(M) has made it a focal point over the decades.
The constituency also carries a rich political heritage. DMK supremo M Karunanidhi and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa have voted here in the past, while the area continues to be home to several notables, including Tamil ‘superstar’ Rajinikanth. Before moving to Kolathur, Chief Minister MK Stalin contested six times from this assembly constituency and won four times.
What the residents want
Residents in various localities in this segment of the assembly cited traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, unregulated parking and aging civic infrastructure as major concerns. The constituency has several old narrow lanes and major thoroughfares such as North Usman Road, Gopathy Narayana Salai, Anna Salai, Cathedral Road, Kodambakkam High Road and Sterling Road lined with densely populated residential areas and government offices.
Constituency Thousand lights
department:
109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 117 and 118
Civil Affairs:
Unregulated parking encroaching on roads
Traffic jam at rush hour
Aging sewer network
The result of the 2021 council elections:
DMK’s N. Ezhilan defeated BJP’s Khushba Sundar by a margin of 32,462 votes.
Voters before SIR:
Total: 2,38,374
Males: 1,16,234
Women: 1,22,022
Others: 118
Voters after SIR:
Total: 1,53,908
Men: 73,500
Women: 80,343
Others: 65
Number of polling stations:
247
V. Karthik, a resident of Gopalapuram, said the area is lined with many educational institutions and vehicles park encroaching on roads in residential areas during peak hours. Traffic congestion remains a major problem on Avvai Shanmugham Salai, Conran Smith Road and Padmavathi Road, he said.
For K. Gunasekar, a resident of Parthasarathy Vinayagar Temple Street, behind the Music Academy, there is an urgent need to revamp the old sewerage networks. He said blocked underground drains and intermittent supply of drinking water to nearly 200 households in his locality remained a problem. He said he has raised the issue several times in sabha meetings in the area but it remains unresolved.
According to GG Jayaraman, member of the Mahalingapuram Residents Welfare Association, speed breakers must be installed on the Mahalingapuram main road near the Aavin junction to check reckless driving and make it easier for senior citizens to cross the road. The residents of the area also wanted all MTC buses plying on the road to stop at Mahalingapuram bus stand.
The residents also highlighted the problem of bad roads on several major roads in Nungambakkam and Choolaimedu locality and demanded speeding up the work of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) to reduce traffic congestion. Some residents also said that their grievances were promptly resolved by officials through inter-ministerial coordination when they were taken up with MLA N. Ezhilan.
Development work
Dr. Ezhilan, the first MLA, said that 1,000 Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) flats have been handed over to beneficiaries in the last five years, while flood mitigation measures have been taken in the Mambalam and Puliyur canals.
Due to rapid urbanization, decades-old sewage networks are being modernized. So far, work has been completed on 110 streets and steps are underway to overhaul the system in another 100 streets, he said.
Using the MLA’s Constituency Development Fund, the Anna flyover has been reconstructed and public spaces including Valluvar Kottam and Semmozhi Poonga are functioning with improved facilities, besides Kalaignar Centenary Park and Boxing Arena and an academy at Gopalapuram have been established, he said.
When Dr. Ezhilan asked about his aspirations to develop the Thousand Lights Assembly segment, said Dr. Ezhilan, among others, the creation of low-cost parking zones to solve parking problems, the construction of 1,000 more TNUHDB tenements and the establishment of a 50-bed dialysis unit.
Published – 21 March 2026 18:30 IST
