Tamil leaders flown down to canvass for votes in city’s Tamil pockets

Only a handful of contenders have got tickets from these parties. “While the BJP gave a ticket only to Ravi Raja, the Congress has given tickets to just two candidates, namely Mariammal Thevar and Murlikumar Chellapan Pillai,” explained Murugeshan

MUMBAI: After wooing Tamils in Mumbai by getting ex-BJP Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai to campaign in eight wards, the city BJP also intends getting actor Khushboo to woo them. Come civic elections and it is not uncommon for political parties to fly in popular actors from TN like Khusboo, Nagma, Anand Raj, Sarathkumar and even leaders like P Chidambaram to woo the Tamil vote banks.

iMumbai, India - January 08, 2026: Former IPS officer and Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President K. Annamalai arrived in Mumbai to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming BMC elections, addressing party workers and supporters at Maladin Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, January 08, 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

“There are over two million Tamilians in Mumbai,” said K C Murugeshan, general secretary of the BJP’s South India cell. “Although we are spread over 50 wards in areas such as Poisar, Sion-Koliwada and Dharavi and play a decisive role in 15 of the 227 wards, there is very little Tamil representation in candidatures among the main political parties.”

Only a handful of contenders have got tickets from these parties. “While the BJP gave a ticket only to Ravi Raja, the Congress has given tickets to just two candidates, namely Mariammal Thevar and Murlikumar Chellapan Pillai,” explained Murugeshan. “Although we have a sizable population in Aarey Colony, we lost out because those wards were reserved for backward castes, and backward castes from Tamil Nadu are not valid in Maharashtra.” The Shiv Sena (UBT) also fielded four-term corporator Annamalai Agambaram from Jari Mari in Andheri (E) while the NCP has fielded Bhakti Nathan Chetty from Ward 47.

In the Kanchpada area of Malad (W), Ward 47 has over 7,000 of the total 53,000 voters in his constituency, explained BJP candidate Tejinder Satnam Singh Tiwana, thus making sense to get Annamalai to campaign for him. Annamalai was greeted with loud cheers as he made his speech in Tamil. Most of the supporters were women who recalled his regular visits to their native Salem earlier. “I have been in Mumbai for over 60 years, and while earlier we used to support the Congress, we have now moved on to the BJP as their leadership is responsive to us,” said Lata Thangam, a garbage picker.

The Tamil leaders understand what connects with residents. At Charkop, when local legislator Yogesh Sagar promised help in relocating a Ganesh idol, Annamalai immediately jumped in to arrange a Ganesh idol for the temple at Charkop from Mahabalipuram, where, he said, artisans made the best idols. Not surprisingly, Annamaalai gets called to reach out to Tamil voters in various states like MP, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and even for the recent civic elections in Kerala.

But the people connect for a completely different reason, say local leaders here. “People feel good and respond warmly when they hear leaders from TN speak to them in Tamil. But they vote for us based on our work over the years,” said Captain Tamil Selvan.

Balakrishna, secretary of the Parishram SRA society at Kandivali, explained: “We used to support the AIADMK back home in TN and shifted allegiance to the Congress after shifting to Mumbai 30 years ago. When we were living in a slum and struggling to get included in the SRA building, it was senior BJP leader Ram Naik who helped us. Hence we now vote BJP. Also, the local Congress leadership is no longer responsive or accessible to us.”