The ruling alliance’s stern decision to go ahead with the Salem-Chennai green corridor project will be one of the key factors that will affect the results in the Yercaud Assembly constituency.
The reserve constituency (ST) has seen three elections between 2011 and 2021 including a by-election in 2013 and candidates of AIADMK won from the constituency. Besides the hill station, the constituency also includes areas like Vazhapadi and Pethanaikenpalayam where agriculture and brick kilns are major industries.
The Salem-Chennai green corridor project faces stiff opposition from the region. Approximately 15 km of the corridor passes through the constituency and landowners here are firm that they will never part away their lands for the project. Farmers and landowners, who will be affected by the project, have passed resolutions against the BJP and AIADMK. S. Narayanan, one of the opposing farmers, said the farmers were hurt due to the government’s action.
The farmers in the region have demanded that the government should offer free seeds and other input elements for agriculture. Flowers like Oleander and jasmine are grown in the region and florists have been demanding a scent manufacturing unit. Tapioca and millets are also grown here. The farmers demanded a cold storage facility to stock vegetables so that they could get better prices and manufacture value-added products to improve their income.
Tourism in the hill station was severely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. The public have been demanding measures to improve tourism in Yercaud. People living in a few hamlets here, especially those within the plantations near Killiyur waterfalls, have been seeking road connectivity for long.
Residents have also demanded development of Salem-Aroor road, one of the important roads connecting districts like Chennai, Tiruvanamalai, Vellore and Kanchipuram.
The DMK has fielded C. Tamizhselvan who won in 2006-2011, but lost in 2011 and 2016 to the AIADMK candidates. The AIADMK has fielded incumbent G. Chitra.
