Nestling at the juncture of Western and Eastern Ghats and perched at a height of 1,000 to 2,500 metres above mean sea level, the Nilgiris, or Blue Mountains, provide a breathtaking backdrop for a spirited poll battle. Tea and coffee plantations drape the slopes of the mountain range with tea farmers and workers constituting 40% of the constituency’s voters.Here, electoral politics and contests centre around tourism and tea.
Battling it out are two high-profile candidates— DMK’s A Raja and BJP’s L Murugan. Raja, a native of Perambalur district, is the sitting MP from Nilgiris. He won during the 2009 general polls but lost in 2014 when his image and prospects were battered by the 2G scam that continued to rage then.
A first-time Lok Sabha contestant, junior Union minister Murugan, a native of Namakkal district in the influential Kongu belt of western Tamil Nadu, was announced BJP’s candidate for Nilgiris weeks after he was nominated to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.

Tea and coffee estates, the prime industry in the hill district, comprise three of the six assembly constituencies in Nilgiris—Udhagamandalam, Gudalur and Coonoor, with a voting population of 5.7 lakh.
“The green tea leaf price, now at Rs 14-15 per kg, is pathetic. The Union government is responsible for fixing it. If it’s the same govt again, there is no relief for small tea farmers,” said state tourism minister K Ramachandran, from the Badaga indigenous community residing in the hills. There are 50,000 small tea farmers registered with the Tea Board in Coonoor. “The INDIA bloc, in its manifesto, has promised Rs 35 per kg,” he said.
“On the tourism front, the state govt is focusing on increasing number of lodgings and restaurants in Nilgiris constituency. Car parking is a huge headache. The chief minister (M K Stalin) has promised hydraulic car parking,” said Ramachandran.
Centering their campaign on anti-Narendra Modi slogans, Ramachandran is confident Raja will poll more than 70% votes, emphasising on the “fallacious concept of one nation, one election, one religion”. Raja and other DMK campaigners, meanwhile, are keeping off the controversial ‘Sanatan Dharma’ issue. Raja’s statement, soon after TN minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks, on the issue had triggered an uproar and dragged both into a bitter political and legal confrontation with BJP leaders.

Campaigning in the Nilgiris, Raja in a traditional Badaga attire of white shirt and veshti, a ‘seelai’ (cotton shawl) draped around his neck, lists out achievements of DMK govt, comes down hard on BJP in the Bilkis Bano case, and accuses the Modi govt of “unleashing” central agencies on opponents. “His govt indulges in so much corruption, but he claims to be a Vishwa Guru (world leader),” says Raja. He barely touches on religion except when he says “everyone has a right to pray to their gods”, though he himself is a non-believer.
Murugan, meanwhile, plays cricket in veshti in Manjoor in Kundah taluk and dances in traditional Badaga attire at a temple in Thummanatty village near Ooty. On spotting an ADMK flag on his campaign vehicle, he gets furious and directs workers to unscrew it immediately.
During his campaign, he hails the Union govt schemes, alleges corruption in disbursal of funds in state govt schemes, promises a good price for green leaf tea, talks about Raja’s “arrogance”, says people want change and belittles DMK’s ‘social justice’ claims. “Thamaraikku (lotus) bekku (vote for lotus),” says Murugan, who knows a smattering of the Badaga language.
Located at the junction of three states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, Nilgiris has a small Malayali and Kannadiga population. A reserved constituency, Nilgiris comprises six assembly constituencies, spread across four districts—Nilgiris, and Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode in the plains.
The voting population in the plains, including assembly segments Bhavanisagar (Erode), Mettupalayam (Coimbatore) and Avinashi (Tirupur), totals 8.5 lakh. People downhill, in the plains, have as much say as those in the hills, if not more, in deciding poll outcomes. Pollution of river Bhavani, poor remuneration for weavers and lack of basic amenities in tribal hamlets are the key issues in these segments.
Tea estate workers, mostly Sri Lankan repatriates, work ing in Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation (Tantea) have largely been supportive of DMK. Tantea was created to rehabilitate them as far back as in 1968 under the then DMK regime. Congress too had a strong base in Nilgiris with former Union minister R Prabhu having won in the constituency five times, and the party itself notching poll victories seven times.
R Raniammal, a small tea farmer, says, “I have been receiving Rs 1,000 every month now from Stalin govt. I will be faithful to DMK.” A long-time resident of Gudalur, K Bakyanathan, says, “The estate workers in Gudalur are traditional voters of Dravidian parties. With a strong alliance, DMK has an edge but the fight is difficult.”
Udhagamandalam Congress MLA R Ganesh says the Congress-DMK alliance is strong in Nilgiris. “Raja’s prospects are bright.”
But BJP state executive committee member Sabitha Bojan says, “Raja’s attitude towards Hindus has antagonised voters. People are ready to shift loyalties to Murugan. Moreover, Modiji is going to lead the country and Murugan will be part of the govt.”
Supporting Sabita’s stand, a small tea farmer from Kotagiri taluk, K Shanmugam, says there is growing support for Modi and BJP among the present generation of small tea farmers. “Unbelievably, there is a growing Modi wave in every Badaga village,” says Shanmugam.
The Badagas, Todas, Kotas, Irulas, Kurumbas, Paniyas and Kattunayakans constitute a sizeable slice of voters among the ethno-linguistic communities. While the Badagas, among the most influential of voters in the hills and categorised under Scheduled Tribe, were shifted to BC category post-Independence, they continue to fight for the reinstatement of their lost community tag. The Badagas, about 2.5 lakh voting population among them, live in hattis (villages) across the hill district.
Total production of “madetea” in south India (mostly from the Nilgiris) for 2022-23 was 225.47 million kg. Tea, mostly blended (from other states too), is exported to all Commonwealth nations and other countries. But the tea aroma in the Nilgiris is getting fainter as unfulfilled demands for development and livelihood are getting strident.