Chance capital

Coimbatore turned into an AIADMK bastion in the 2010s, but the BJP has roots in the city and the DMK has precedent

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

ON FEBRUARY 14, 1998, Coimbatore was subjected to a devastating attack. Thirteen bomb explosions rocked the city. The first set of bombs went off at Shanmugam Road near the head post office in R.S. Puram—a swanky north Indian settlement in the city. The bomb exploded at 3:50 pm, minutes before BJP president L.K. Advani got there to address a rally.

The city has fought hard to overcome the communal divisions caused by the attack. Now, 26 years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Shanmugam Road as the point to end his road show. The BJP and Hindu organisations in the city pay homage to victims of the terror attack at the site on anniversaries of the blasts. They have also been asking for a memorial. Modi’s roadshow, on March 18, turned out to be a real show of strength, especially considering the voters in Tamil Nadu have consistently rejected the BJP.

Coimbatore, which is one of eight Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu’s western (Kongu) region, is crucial for the DMK, AIADMK and the BJP.

The city, known for its business, flourishing industries and proletarian movements, has also had an RSS presence since 1949. The Coimbatore shakha has over 40,000 members and at least 4,000 active members. However, sustained and intensive efforts by successive state governments prevented the spread of RSS ideology. Though there was ground support for hindutva, J. Jayalalithaa changed the voting pattern in the seat after she came to power in the state in 2001. The DMK won some seats in and around Coimbatore in 2006, but since the emergence of AIADMK strongman S.P. Velumani around 2011, the region has turned into an AIADMK bastion. However, AIADMK-ally BJP lost to the CPI(M) in 2019. This has been attributed to the BJP not catering to rural voters, factionalism within its Coimbatore unit and a prevailing anti-Modi sentiment at the time.