DMK strongman in the north and Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare MRK Panneerselvam, who has emerged victorious five times in six elections from Kurinjipadi constituency since 1996, is in the fray for the seventh time and hopes to achieve a hat-trick during the assembly elections scheduled for April 23.
While the AIADMK won the Kurinjipadi seat in 1980, 1984, 1991 and 2011, the DMK won it 10 times – 1962, 1967, 1971-77 (N. Rajangam), 1977-1980 (M.murthy-aj), 1991-1991.
Panneerselvam recorded consecutive wins from 1996 to 2011. He was the Health Minister in the DMK government led by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. After his defeat to R. Rajendran of the AIADMK in 2011, he again emerged victorious in the 2016 and 2021 elections and became the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
In 2021, Mr. Pannerselvam’s margin of victory against AIADMK’s Selvi Ramajayam was 17,527 votes. In 2016, he defeated R. Rajendran of the AIADMK by a margin of 28,108 votes.
In the upcoming elections, as important as it is for the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) to put up a strong performance, the front must also be very aware that the Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) led by T. Velmurugan and now disconnected from the DMK-led alliance is capable of eating into votes like the presence of the Kurinji DMK in the Kurinji Kulchdi DMK areas.
A rapidly developing urban locality, Kurinjipadi taluk headquarters is facing a number of civic and infrastructural challenges. Despite the presence of SIDCO industrial zone in Vadalur town which falls under the constituency, no major industries have come up.
“Kurinjipadi was once a thriving handloom center and one of the main handloom clusters in the state. There used to be around 22,000 weavers in Kurinjipadi, but today that number has dwindled to just 300. Kurinjipadi was supposed to develop into an industrial center, but there was no plan to revive a new industry — the Ney Environmental Protection Industrial Sector became nearby. It is important to create a non-polluting agro-based industrial area,” says Natesan Subramaniam, organizer of the citizens’ initiative KurunjiCAN (Citizens’ Action Network).
The DMK mainly highlights its achievements along with promises for the predominantly agrarian constituency. Realization of the long-pending requirement to desilt the Perumal reservoir in Kurinjipadi, a major water body, at a cost of ₹ 112.42 crore, in 2022, has helped increase the storage capacity from 524 million cubic feet to 723.27 mcft.
Implementation of the ‘Aruval Mooku’ flood prevention project this year at a cost of ₹ 81 crore was also a major demand of the ryots in the district.
As Kurinjipadi is predominantly agrarian, residents are demanding that only agriculture and allied industries be allowed in the region. Promotion of value-added products in jackfruit and sugarcane, which are predominantly grown in the region, is essential to transform agriculture and enhance sustainability and profits for local farmers.
Published – 23 March 2026 21:43 IST
