Lok Sabha 2019 constituency: In Nilgiris, DMK pins its hopes on A Raja

A Raja, a former telecom minister in the UPA government, was an accused in the 2G spectrum scam and was acquitted by a court in 2012. A four-time MP, Raja is contesting his third elections from Nilgiris.

Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu is a reserved Lok Sabha constituency for scheduled caste candidates. C Gopalakrishnan of the AIADMK won from this seat in the hills in 2014. He defeated A Raja of the DMK by over 1 lakh votes.

A Raja had won thrice from Permabalur and shifted to Nilgiris in 2009. Raja won in 2009 but was defeated in 2014 by AIADMK’s Gopalakrishnan. (HT Photo)

This time the AIADMK did not give ticket to its sitting MP Gopalakrishnan and has instead fielded M Thiagarajan against Raja.

Raja, a former telecom minister in the UPA government, was an accused in the 2G spectrum scam and was acquitted by a court in 2012. A four-time MP, Raja is contesting his third elections from Nilgiris. He had won thrice from Permabalur and shifted to Nilgiris in 2009. Raja won in 2009 but was defeated in 2014 by AIADMK’s Gopalakrishnan.

Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 18. The results will be declared on May 23.

Here are a few details about the Nilgiris Lok Sabha seat:

State: Tamil Nadu

Name of the Lok Sabha constituency: Nilgiris

Polling date: April 18

Sitting MP, party: C Gopalakrishnan, AIADMK

Winning margin in 2014: 1,04,940

Runner up name, party: A Raja, DMK

Number of voters in 2014: 9,33,076

Percentage of votes polled in 2014: 73.52%

Number of women voters in 2014: 4,59,913

Number of polling booths in 2014: 1,439