The Coimbatore south unit of the BJP adopted a resolution demanding the bifurcation of Coimbatore and the creation of Pollachi as a separate district during the district executive meeting held on Sunday, July 17. The meeting was chaired by the party’s south Coimbatore president K Vasantharajan, where the party cadre said that making Pollachi a separate district would not only help with the administration but also aid faster growth in the region, according to the Times of India.
In the meeting, the attendees criticised the present state government’s failure to support coir industries and coconut farmers. The state government was also criticised for ignoring infrastructure development in Pollachi as well.
Before the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections in the state, the AIADMK had made a similar demand which later became a part of the party’s electoral promises. The demand for Pollachi to be a separate district was first made in 2006 by the AIADMK but was not fulfilled because the party did not win the elections back then. The demand for the bifurcation heightened when new districts like Kallakuruchi and Mayiladuthurai were formed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Former Deputy Speaker of Tamil Nadu, Pollachi V Jayaraman had also demanded the bifurcation of Pollachi into a separate district by adding Madathukulam and Udumalpet from Tiruppur district when the AIADMK was in power till 2021.
In July 2021, several political parties from Tamil Nadu alleged that the BJP was planning to carve out ‘Kongu Nadu’, comprising the western part of Tamil Nadu, into a separate state or union territory for political gains. This became a controversy when it was mentioned as the place L Murugan was from after he was sworn in as Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. However, all rumours were quashed when the Union Government told the Parliament in August 2021 that there were no plans to divide the state as of now.