1.  Constituency At a Glance

Key Sub-Localities

Velachery (North and South) · Tharamani · Thiruvanmiyur · Sastri Nagar (Nandanam / Shastri Nagar) · Indra Nagar · Besant Nagar · West Adyar · Adambakkam · Pallikaranai · Medavakkam (boundary) · AGS Colony · Vijayaraghava Nagar · Nanmangalam

2.  Constituency Overview

Velachery is Assembly Constituency No. 26 and falls under the Chennai South Lok Sabha segment. It covers a large swath of South Chennai that includes the classic inner-city belt of Thiruvanmiyur and Adyar’s western reaches, as well as the rapidly urbanised corridor stretching through Velachery, Tharamani, and out toward Pallikaranai and Medavakkam.

The constituency is economically diverse: Besant Nagar and Indra Nagar are among Chennai’s most sought-after residential addresses, while Adambakkam, parts of Tharamani, and the AGS Colony cluster have significant working-class and lower-income populations. The IT expressway running through Tharamani and Perungudi brings a large floating population of tech professionals, many of whom are tenants and whose electoral participation depends on up-to-date voter registration.

Velachery has a complex political history compared to most Chennai constituencies. Despite being broadly aligned with the SPA (DMK alliance), the seat has been shared with Congress under both the 2016 and 2026 seat-sharing arrangements. In 2021, the INC’s J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana won by just 4,352 votes — the second-closest margin of any Chennai constituency that cycle — making it one of Tamil Nadu’s most closely contested urban seats.

The 2025 SIR process deleted approximately 40% of voters — roughly 1,26,000 names removed from the rolls, bringing the post-SIR count to approximately 2,11,691. Velachery also made national news in 2021 when three GCC officials were suspended for transporting EVMs and VVPATs on a two-wheeler, requiring a repoll at Booth 92 on April 17, 2021.

3.  2026 Candidates and Party Positions

3.1  INC (Congress) — J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana (Sitting MLA)

Velachery has again been allocated to the Indian National Congress under the 2026 SPA seat-sharing arrangement, confirming J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana as the likely SPA candidate for re-election. Maulaana is the sitting MLA, having won in 2021 with 68,493 votes — a 38.76% vote share — defeating the AIADMK’s M.K. Ashok by 4,352 votes.

Maulaana is the Whip of the Congress Legislative Party in Tamil Nadu and serves on the Disha (Development and Infrastructure) Committee and the Hajj Committee. He was also a former President of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress and an AICC member. He ran on the Congress ticket in 2021 as the SPA’s candidate, carrying both Congress’s symbol and the effective backing of the DMK’s booth machinery. His Instagram handle (@jmh_hassan) identifies him under the tagline ‘#NammaVelachery’, reflecting a constituency-rooted digital presence.

Maulaana’s re-nomination represents the Congress holding onto a key South Chennai seat. His challenge in 2026 is to maintain the narrow 2021 margin against a sharpened AIADMK challenge and the entry of TVK.

3.2  AIADMK — Direct Contest (NDA Alliance)

The AIADMK is directly contesting Velachery under the NDA banner in 2026. In 2021, AIADMK fielded M.K. Ashok, who polled 64,141 votes (36.30% vote share), finishing just 4,352 behind Maulaana. The margin was the second-smallest in Chennai in 2021 and the AIADMK regards this as a winnable seat in 2026.

Whether M.K. Ashok is re-nominated or a fresh NDA candidate is fielded will be known after April 6 nominations. Given the competitiveness of the seat and the reduced voter roll, any change in candidate from 2021 carries risk. AIADMK had also attracted the strong three-party vote in 2021 (DMK/INC at 38.76%, AIADMK at 36.30%, MNM at ~10%), meaning even a modest TVK drain on the DMK/INC vote could benefit the NDA.

3.3  TVK — Candidate (To Be Confirmed)

TVK is contesting Velachery as part of its statewide 234-constituency rollout. Velachery’s IT professional demographic and large young-voter base are constituencies TVK’s messaging has specifically targeted. The party’s promises of government job transparency, drug-free Tamil Nadu, and youth financial support resonate with the aspirational, first-generation urban voter who dominates parts of Tharamani and the new high-rise belt near Pallikaranai. A TVK vote share of 10–15% here could decisively swing the outcome in what was a 4,000-vote race in 2021.

3.4  DMK, BJP, and Others

Under the SPA arrangement, DMK is not contesting Velachery — the seat belongs to Congress within the alliance. Similarly, the BJP is not contesting here as AIADMK is the NDA contestant. In 2024, the Lok Sabha results in the Chennai South constituency (which includes Velachery as an Assembly segment) showed the BJP receiving 30.48% of the vote in the segment, suggesting a residual BJP-aligned voter base that will now be expected to vote AIADMK under the unified NDA banner.

NTK (Naam Tamilar Katchi) will field a candidate. In urban South Chennai seats, NTK typically receives 5–8% of the vote. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), which received approximately 10% in 2021 under Dr. Santhosh Babu, has since wound up its electoral operations.

4.  Sitting MLA Profile: J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana (INC, 2021–2026)

J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana (also written as J.M.H. Hassan) won Velachery in 2021 on the INC ticket within the DMK’s SPA alliance. His 38.76% vote share was modest by South Chennai DMK alliance standards, reflecting both the competitive nature of the seat and the INC’s narrower organisational base compared to the DMK.

Maulaana has served as Congress Legislative Party Whip in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, a role that places him at the centre of assembly proceedings on behalf of the Congress faction. He has been active on constituency issues including infrastructure and local welfare matters. He identifies closely with the Velachery identity through his ‘#NammaVelachery’ public persona.

His primary electoral strength lies in the constituency’s Muslim voter base — particularly in Thiruvanmiyur and parts of Adambakkam — alongside the SPA alliance’s unified Dravidian machinery. His re-nomination signals the DMK’s confidence in his ability to retain the seat even in a more competitive environment.

5.  Election History and Results

5.1  Post-Delimitation Results

Note: Velachery was a constituency formed after the 2008 delimitation from parts of older South Chennai segments. The post-delimitation contests have all been closely fought.

5.2  Vote Share Trends

5.3  Margin Analysis

• 2021 margin: 4,352 votes — the second-narrowest in Chennai, making Velachery a bellwether swing seat
• 2016 margin: 8,872 — DMK won more comfortably but Velachery was still tighter than most Chennai seats
• 2024 Lok Sabha vote in the segment showed DMK at 45.25%, BJP at 30.48%, suggesting AIADMK’s standalone NDA campaign must consolidate anti-SPA voters effectively
• TVK’s entry could remove 8–15% from the SPA vote column, potentially turning a 4,352-vote win into an AIADMK win if the vote splits unfavourably for Congress

6.  Key Local Issues for 2026

6.1  Velachery Lake Encroachment and Recurrent Flooding

The single most documented and persistent civic issue in Velachery is the loss of its lake and the resulting annual flooding. The Velachery Lake, covering 255.8 acres in a 1970 survey, has been reduced to under 55 acres through decades of encroachment, road widening, and institutional construction. The Pallikaranai marshland — a Ramsar-adjacent wetland to the south — has similarly been reduced, removing natural flood buffering capacity from the entire catchment.

The result is structural flooding in Velachery, Pallikaranai, Medavakkam, and Adambakkam during every northeast monsoon of consequence. AGS Colony Welfare Association Secretary Geeta Ganesh has publicly called for government action to desilt, deepen, and widen storm water drains to allow flow into Veerangal Odai. Parts of sub-localities including Vijayaraghava Nagar and Adambakkam are particularly vulnerable, with basement apartments and ground-floor units experiencing flooding annually.

6.2  Velachery Flyover and Road Quality

The construction of the Velachery flyover — which displaced and demolished the Vijayanagaram bus terminus in 2016 — remains a sore point. The bus terminus was never replaced, leaving commuters without a formal interchange point in one of the constituency’s most congested corridors. As documented by Citizen Matters in 2021, the inordinate delay in flyover completion forced residents to use circuitous routes through Medavakkam, adding time to daily commutes. Pothole-filled approach roads and construction-related surface damage remain ongoing complaints.

6.3  Traffic and Connectivity

Velachery lies at the intersection of multiple high-traffic corridors — the 100 Feet Road, the Velachery-Tambaram Road, and the Inner Ring Road. Despite excellent macro-level connectivity to multiple Chennai zones, internal mobility suffers from congestion around Velachery main road, Tharamani Gate, and the stretch near the Pallikaranai Road junction. The constituency is also home to a portion of Chennai’s IT expressway with approximately 70 offices in 20 buildings in the Tharamani belt, generating significant inward and outward peak-hour traffic.

6.4  Water Supply and Tanker Dependency

Parts of Adambakkam, Nanmangalam, and Pallikaranai are not fully covered by Metro Water pipelines. Tanker dependency is particularly acute in low-lying areas during summer months. New apartment complexes built in the Medavakkam border area of the constituency have further strained existing supply infrastructure.

6.5  IIT Madras Gate Access and Adi Dravidar Community

During the previous assembly term, then-MLA Vagai Chandrasekar raised the issue of the closure of the Krishna Gate of the IIT Madras campus. The gate’s closure affected students of Kendriya Vidyalaya and Vanavani schools within the campus, and also impacted members of the Adi Dravidar community whose lands were acquired for the IIT campus in 1964 and who live in the vicinity. The MLA urged authorities to restore community access as a matter of dignity and historical respect. This issue continues to resonate with the Velachery constituency’s social justice-conscious voter base.

6.6  Voter Roll Anxiety

The ~40% SIR deletion (approximately 1,26,000 names) has disproportionately affected Velachery’s tenant population — IT workers on short-term leases in Tharamani, Perungudi, and the apartment clusters near Pallikaranai. This demographic is both politically active and practically difficult to reach during door-to-door BLO verification. Their missing votes could reshape the outcome in a constituency decided by 4,352 votes in 2021.

7.  What to Watch in 2026

7.1  The Thinnest Margin in Chennai South — Can Congress Hold?

Velachery was the most competitive Chennai South seat in 2021. With an INC candidate (not DMK) defending a 4,352-vote margin against a reinvigorated AIADMK and a TVK debut, this is the seat most likely to change hands in South Chennai. The DMK alliance’s decision to retain Congress here rather than nominate a DMK candidate reflects trust in Maulaana’s name recognition among Muslim voters — but it also means the full DMK booth machinery must work for a Congress candidate, a dynamic that requires active coalition management.

7.2  TVK as a Swing Factor

If TVK polls 10–12% in Velachery, it will almost certainly come at the cost of the SPA. A three-way race in which DMK/INC gets ~35%, AIADMK gets ~34%, and TVK gets ~12% would flip the seat. This is the key arithmetic to watch.

7.3  2021 EVM Controversy

Velachery’s 2021 EVM incident — in which three officials were suspended for transporting machines on a two-wheeler — was resolved by a repoll at Booth 92 that produced a clean result. There is no ongoing dispute, but the episode has sharpened voter and activist attention to election administration in the constituency.

How to Check Your Voter Status

• Verify name: voters.eci.gov.in (enter name, DOB or EPIC number)
• Download voter slip: CEO Tamil Nadu — ceotn.gov.in
• Check candidate affidavits: affidavit.eci.gov.in (after April 6)
• MCC complaints: Call 1950 or use the cVIGIL app
• Booth address printed on voter slip or available via ECI Voter Helpline 1950