Ten years after its creation, following a delimitation, the politically nondescript Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency achieved a high-profile status in 2019 when DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi entered the fray against BJP leader and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Events such as protests against the Sterlite Copper plant and the police firing that killed 13 protestors, changed the constituency’s profile.
A coastal belt with a number of industries, the constituency is well-known for its fishing and manufacturing units, and the V.O. Chidambaranar Port. With boundaries falling under four districts before delimitation, Thoothukudi, formerly Tiruchendur constituency, comprises six Assembly segments – Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Srivaikuntam, Ottapidaram, Vilathikulam and Kovilpatti. DMK candidates won here in 2009 and 2019, and an AIADMK candidate in 2014.
