‘DMK became careless’: A month after Tamil Nadu upheaval, voters in Stalin’s former seat take stock

On Tuesday evening, 50-year-old B Anandababu stood outside the Chief Minister’s Mini Stadium in Kolathur, watching his teenage son play badminton. Dressed in a red t-shirt and jeans, Anandababu said his family had voted for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for decades. The stadium, which offers badminton and swimming facilities, is one of several development projects sanctioned by former Chief Minister MK Stalin during his tenure as Kolathur’s MLA.

For Anandababu, Stalin’s defeat in the state elections in April from Kolathur was deeply upsetting. When the former chief minister visited the constituency the day after the results were announced, Anandababu deliberately stayed away. “I could have waited to see him before going to work, but I didn’t,” he said. “I felt like crying that day.”

Stalin lost the seat to VS Babu, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate, by a margin of just over 8,000 votes. His visit was meant to thank constituents he had represented for three consecutive terms. Until the TVK won the elections, party leader Vijay was best known as a movie superstar.

A month after the results, the public projects that Stalin left behind in brick-and-mortar continue to draw crowds. Behind the badminton courts, the swimming pool was packed with children learning to swim,...

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