# Salem – I Assembly constituency

Salem-I is a former state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu.

## History

Until 2008, the city of Salem was part of the Salem I and Salem II assembly constituencies. Since 1977, the ADMK party won the Salem I assembly seat five times (1977, 1980, 1984, 2001 and 2006); Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won twice (1989 and 1996), and the Indian National Congress (INC) won in 1991.
The constituencies of Salem were redrawn as Salem North, Salem South and Salem West in 2008.

## Members of the Legislative Assembly

| Year | Winner | Party |
| Madras State ||||
| 1951 | Varadarajulu Naidu | Indian National Congress |
| 1957 | A. Mariappan Mudaliar | Indian National Congress |
| 1962 | C. Venkataraman | Indian National Congress |
| 1967 | K. Jayaraman | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| Tamil Nadu ||||
| 1971 | K. Jayaraman | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 1977 | S. V. Varadarajan | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 1980 | G. Krishnaraj | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 1984 | G. Krishnaraj | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 1989 | K. R. G. Dhanapalan | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 1991 | S. R. Jayaraman | Indian National Congress |
| 1996 | K. R. G. Dhanapalan | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 2001 | S. E. Venkatachalam | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| 2006 | L. Ravichandran | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |

## Election results

Vote share of winning candidates :
| 2006 | 2006 | 44.13% | 44.13% |
| 2001 | 2001 | 60.01% | 60.01% |
| 1996 | 1996 | 58.82% | 58.82% |
| 1991 | 1991 | 65.97% | 65.97% |
| 1989 | 1989 | 43.67% | 43.67% |
| 1984 | 1984 | 51.80% | 51.80% |
| 1980 | 1980 | 52.55% | 52.55% |
| 1977 | 1977 | 38.21% | 38.21% |
| 1971 | 1971 | 50.92% | 50.92% |
| 1967 | 1967 | 57.92% | 57.92% |
| 1962 | 1962 | 50.67% | 50.67% |
| 1957 | 1957 | 45.21% | 45.21% |

### 2006

2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | AIADMK | L. Ravichandran | 69,083 | 44.13% | −15.88% |
| | INC | M. R. Suresh | 56,266 | 35.94% | |
| | DMDK | S. J. Dhanasekar | 27,218 | 17.38% | |
| | BJP | N. Annadurai | 2,095 | 1.34% | |
| | Independent | M. A. Shajahan | 576 | 0.37% | |
| | LJP | V. Poongodi | 253 | 0.16% | |
| | BSP | B. Sanaullakhan | 237 | 0.15% | |
| | Independent | S. Suresh | 209 | 0.13% | |
| | Independent | G. Srinivasan | 190 | 0.12% | |
| | Independent | S. Manickam | 188 | 0.12% | |
| | Independent | P. Rajagopal | 157 | 0.10% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 12,817 | 8.19% | −14.54% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 156,561 | 75.85% | 11.99% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 206,400 | | |
| | AIADMK hold | AIADMK hold | Swing | -15.88% | |

### 2001

2001 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | AIADMK | S. E. Venkatajalam | 66,365 | 60.01% | |
| | DMK | M. A. Elangovan | 41,234 | 37.29% | −21.53% |
| | MDMK | T. Ravikrishnan | 976 | 0.88% | −0.21% |
| | Independent | L. S. Anburaj | 847 | 0.77% | |
| | Independent | S. Rajkumar | 431 | 0.39% | |
| | Independent | B. V. Prakash | 198 | 0.18% | |
| | Independent | N. Sakthivel | 106 | 0.10% | |
| | Independent | P. Duraisamy | 100 | 0.09% | |
| | Independent | I. Babu | 91 | 0.08% | |
| | Independent | P. Madhesu | 87 | 0.08% | |
| | Independent | A. Saravanakumar | 85 | 0.08% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 25,131 | 22.72% | −3.62% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 110,590 | 63.87% | −1.50% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 173,264 | | |
| | AIADMK gain from DMK | AIADMK gain from DMK | Swing | 1.19% | |

### 1996

1996 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | DMK | K. R. G. Dhanapalan | 67,566 | 58.82% | 30.09% |
| | INC | A. T. Natarajan | 37,299 | 32.47% | −33.50% |
| | AIIC(T) | S. R. Jeyaraman | 4,437 | 3.86% | |
| | BJP | B. Venugopalan | 2,182 | 1.90% | −0.03% |
| | MDMK | T. Ravikrishnan | 1,259 | 1.10% | |
| | Independent | R. Kasilingam | 413 | 0.36% | |
| | Independent | R. Sudhakaran | 386 | 0.34% | |
| | Independent | S. A. Samarasam | 179 | 0.16% | |
| | Independent | A. S. Saleem | 124 | 0.11% | |
| | Independent | K. M. Arumugam | 112 | 0.10% | |
| | Independent | K. Goverthanan | 111 | 0.10% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 30,267 | 26.35% | −10.90% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 114,875 | 65.36% | 4.85% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 180,579 | | |
| | DMK gain from INC | DMK gain from INC | Swing | -7.16% | |

### 1991

1991 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | INC | S. R. Jayaraman | 72,792 | 65.97% | 47.80% |
| | DMK | G. K. Subash | 31,698 | 28.73% | −14.94% |
| | BJP | V. Ramanathan | 2,130 | 1.93% | 1.41% |
| | IUML | M. B. Khader Hussain | 1,806 | 1.64% | |
| | JP | M. Kannamma Ganapathy | 1,010 | 0.92% | |
| | Independent | T. B. S. Arthanariasamy Chetty | 125 | 0.11% | |
| | Independent | P. M. Selvakumaran | 102 | 0.09% | |
| | Independent | S. Shan Muga Sundaram | 93 | 0.08% | |
| | Independent | P. Ravikumar | 76 | 0.07% | |
| | Independent | M. Vanaraji | 68 | 0.06% | |
| | TDI | M. Usharaj | 67 | 0.06% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 41,094 | 37.24% | 17.25% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 110,335 | 60.52% | −9.06% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 185,710 | | |
| | INC gain from DMK | INC gain from DMK | Swing | 22.30% | |

### 1989

1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | DMK | K. R. G. Dhanapalan | 49,498 | 43.67% | −2.56% |
| | Independent | C. N. K. A. Periasamy | 26,837 | 23.68% | |
| | INC | A. Thiruselvam | 20,598 | 18.17% | |
| | AIADMK | V. P. Eswaran | 13,654 | 12.05% | −39.76% |
| | BJP | A. Vaiyapuri | 588 | 0.52% | |
| | Independent | O. P. Damodharan | 299 | 0.26% | |
| | Independent | A. T. P. Chandrasekaran | 234 | 0.21% | |
| | Independent | V. Vijaya Sarathi Mohan | 173 | 0.15% | |
| | Independent | P. M. Selvakumaran | 152 | 0.13% | |
| | Independent | S. Prakasam | 136 | 0.12% | |
| | Independent | K. Manicka Achari | 106 | 0.09% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 22,661 | 19.99% | 14.42% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 113,343 | 69.58% | −7.23% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 164,974 | | |
| | DMK gain from AIADMK | DMK gain from AIADMK | Swing | -8.13% | |

### 1984

1984 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | AIADMK | G. Krishnaraj | 54,749 | 51.80% | −0.74% |
| | DMK | G. K. Subasu | 48,863 | 46.24% | |
| | Independent | P. L. Rasan | 790 | 0.75% | |
| | Independent | C. S. Rajan | 276 | 0.26% | |
| | Independent | R. Ragunath | 240 | 0.23% | |
| | Independent | S. Venkatesa Iyer | 127 | 0.12% | |
| | Independent | N. Thiyagaraj | 108 | 0.10% | |
| | Independent | P. Sivalingam | 84 | 0.08% | |
| | Independent | S. R. V. Rajendran | 80 | 0.08% | |
| | Independent | P. K. Selvaraj | 77 | 0.07% | |
| | Independent | E. Alagiri | 75 | 0.07% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 5,886 | 5.57% | −14.25% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 105,683 | 76.81% | 6.12% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 141,927 | | |
| | AIADMK hold | AIADMK hold | Swing | -0.74% | |

### 1980

1980 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | AIADMK | G. Krishnaraj | 50,976 | 52.55% | 14.34% |
| | Independent | Amanullah Khan | 31,745 | 32.72% | |
| | JP | A. K. Palaniyeppan | 12,391 | 12.77% | |
| | BJP | S. A. Palanisami | 597 | 0.62% | |
| | Independent | V. Soundappan | 467 | 0.48% | |
| | Independent | S. R. V. Rajendran | 286 | 0.29% | |
| | Independent | M. Ganesadasan | 228 | 0.24% | |
| | Independent | O. R. A. Ramakrishnan | 145 | 0.15% | |
| | Independent | Balu (Alias) Balasubramaniam | 123 | 0.13% | |
| | Independent | T. K. Jayagopal | 52 | 0.05% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 19,231 | 19.82% | 10.29% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 97,010 | 70.69% | 8.11% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 138,312 | | |
| | AIADMK hold | AIADMK hold | Swing | 14.34% | |

### 1977

1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | AIADMK | S. V. Varadarajan | 34,708 | 38.21% | |
| | JP | S. S. Mahadeva Mudaliar | 26,046 | 28.67% | |
| | DMK | P. S. Manickam | 21,093 | 23.22% | −27.70% |
| | INC | K. Mahadevan | 8,135 | 8.95% | −38.23% |
| | Independent | S. Jotheeswaran | 281 | 0.31% | |
| | Independent | P. S. Venugopal | 261 | 0.29% | |
| | Independent | S. K. Muthaiah | 249 | 0.27% | |
| | Independent | Theliammal | 71 | 0.08% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 8,662 | 9.54% | 5.80% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 90,844 | 62.59% | −12.02% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 146,078 | | |
| | AIADMK gain from DMK | AIADMK gain from DMK | Swing | -12.72% | |

### 1971

1971 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | DMK | K. Jayaraman | 46,262 | 50.92% | −7.00% |
| | INC | P. Thiagarajan | 42,867 | 47.19% | 6.68% |
| | ABJS | P. Ramakrishnan | 1,718 | 1.89% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 3,395 | 3.74% | −13.68% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 90,847 | 74.61% | −7.98% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 123,835 | | |
| | DMK hold | DMK hold | Swing | -7.00% | |

### 1967

1967 Madras Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | DMK | K. Jayaraman | 46,776 | 57.92% | 11.76% |
| | INC | P. Thiagarajan | 32,710 | 40.51% | −10.16% |
| | ABJS | N. P. Vasudevan | 835 | 1.03% | |
| | Independent | S. C. Gopal | 432 | 0.53% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 14,066 | 17.42% | 12.91% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 80,753 | 82.59% | 0.43% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 99,374 | | |
| | DMK gain from INC | DMK gain from INC | Swing | 7.25% | |

### 1962

1962 Madras Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | INC | C. Venkataraman | 43,726 | 50.67% | 5.46% |
| | DMK | E. R. Krishnan | 39,838 | 46.16% | |
| | ABJS | N. P. Vasudevan | 2,732 | 3.17% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 3,888 | 4.51% | 4.13% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 86,296 | 82.16% | 23.20% |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 106,662 | | |
| | INC hold | INC hold | Swing | 5.46% | |

### 1957

1957 Madras Legislative Assembly election: Salem-I :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | INC | A. Mariappan Mudaliar | 24,920 | 45.21% | |
| | Independent | V. R. Nedunchezhiyan | 24,713 | 44.83% | |
| | CPI | Samuel | 5,487 | 9.95% | |
| Margin of victory | Margin of victory | Margin of victory | 207 | 0.38% | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,120 | 58.96% | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 93,489 | | |
| | INC win (new seat) | INC win (new seat) | INC win (new seat) | INC win (new seat) | INC win (new seat) |