Top contest of Tamil Nadu poll 2016: J Jayalalithaa vs Shimla Muthuchozhan vs C Devi in RK Nagar

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa is all set to contest from Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in Chennai in the upcoming assembly elections.

She will be facing a transgender contestant C Devi from Naam Tamilar Katchi (NMK) and a new face Shimla Muthuchozhan from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Date of polling:

Tamil Nadu will go to assembly polls in a single phase on May 16, Monday. The result will be declared on May 19.

2011 election result:

In 2011, Jayalalithaa contested from Srirangam that falls under Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha constituency and registered a stunning victory for herself. She defeated DMK's electoral novice N Anand and won by a vote percentage of 58.99%.

Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK won 160 seats out of 234 constituencies and she took oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for the third time on May 16, 2011.

2015 bypoll:

In June 27, 2015 bypoll, Jayalalithaa contested from RK Nagar, north of Chennai city, for the first time and defeated her lone challenger CPI's C Mahendran and her vote percentage was 88.43%, with a margin of 1.5 lakh voters. Many viewed Mahendran as a serious opponent for Jayalalithaa.

Jaya won 160,432 votes while Mahendran got just 9,710 votes, leading to a victory margin of 150,722 votes.

J Jayalalithaa (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-- AIADMK)

For May 16 election, 68-year-old Jayalalithaa has given seven of 234 seats to its allies. She will be campaigning from April 9 to April 12 in RK Nagar constituency, from where she will re-contest.

On Feb 28, 2016, Jayalalithaa had said, "I will never forget RK Nagar constituency in my lifetime and the people of this constituency are eternally etched in my heart."

Shimla Muthuchozhan (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-- DMK)

To take on veteran politician and a mass leader like Jayalalithaa, the DMK has has fielded a new face Shimla Muthuchozhan, who is an advocate in Madras High Court since 2009 and the daughter-in-law of former minister Sarguna Pandian. She is from the dominant Nadar community.

One thing that is common between Jayalalithaa and Shimla is that both of them studied in same school at Church Park Convent in Chennai.

During Tamil Nadu floods in Dec 2015, Shimla reached out to victims by organising medical camps and providing relief material to the needy people. Her Facebook page is liked by 12,689 people.

Vasanthy Devi (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi--VCK)

People's Welfare Front constituent VCK on Wednesday fielded well-known educationist and intellectual Vasanthy Devi from RK Nagar constituency.

She is a well-known educationist who has fought for women issues among other things. Highly respected, she has been working in various fora for people's issues.

C Devi (Naam Tamilar Katchi-- NMK)

A 33-year-old transgender C Devi is set to contest against AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa in the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai.

She is the first transgender person in Tamil Nadu to contest in the assembly elections. She will be contesting on behalf of the Tamil party, Naam Tamilar Katchi.

She hails from Salem and has worked with various NGOs from 2004, focusing on the empowerment of sex workers and transgender people.

Our prediction:

Jayalalithaa, who is contesting from RK Nagar for the second time, will definitely have more chances of winning in front of beginners like Shimla Muthuchozhan and C Devi.

However, one of the plus point for Shimla is that she is a resident of RK Nagar from last ten years and knows local issues very well. She also connects with locals on a frequent basis.

Win chances:

J Jayalalithaa 85%, Shimla Muthuchozhan 10%, C Devi 5%