Silent drive: Electric vehicle capital Hosur navigates the election circuit

Beyond the buzz of Ola and Tata, Hosur ignites India's electric evolution, quietly

The 70-kilometre (km) drive between Pochampalli and Koothanapalli in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu is picturesque, with lush green terrain and pristine mountains. The political fever appears muted in this part of the country. What catches the attention of outsiders is the newly widened roads, expanding infrastructure, mighty new buildings and shops, upcoming real 

estate projects, and much more.

The names of these rural Tamil Nadu villages may be unfamiliar to the rest of the country. However, to simplify, Pochampalli is home to the upcoming world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) facility by Ola Electric, and Koothanapalli hosts Tata Electronics iPhone assembly units.

These Krishnagiri villages serve as a natural extension of the industrial town of Hosur, around 32 km from the Tata unit and 80 km from the Ola plant. Barely 500 metres from the Ola Futurefactory, Subramanian (initials not given) runs a tea stall.

While indicating that the mega-unit is not bringing more business to him, he believes that the unit is probably an example of how industry can bring development to rural India.

When Business Standard visited both these places and the industrial city of Hosur, there were no visible signs of an election that the rest of India is engrossed in.
 

No posters, no cutouts, no hoardings, and minimal campaigns are probably a sign of how digital campaigns are gaining traction in an industrial township, where 90 per cent of people are taxpayers, according to Hosur Industries Association (HIA), a body of large industries in the region.
 

“It is a good thing that there are no hoardings, but campaigning is happening everywhere. Fewer posters mean people are moving to other mediums,” believes Arvind M Adhi, president, Elkayem Auto Ancillaries, a supplier to TVS Motor Company, Ashok Leyland, and Tractors and Farm Equipment.
 

The region falls under the Krishnagiri Lok Sabha (LS) constituency, and a fierce battle is underway between the Congress’ K Gopinath, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK’s) V Jayaprakash, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s C Narasimhan, and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Vidya Rani Veerappan.
 

For those unfamiliar with the name, well-known social worker Vidya Rani is also the daughter of forest brigand Veerappan.

“It is a tough battle between the Congress and the BJP. All three major candidates are from one community. Gopinath was a three-time Member of Legislative Assembly earlier. The BJP candidate was an earlier Member of Parliament with the Congress. There may be a Modi factor impact, but Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is very strong,” adds an industry leader.

Business Standard caught hold of Jan Basha, a software engineer, reminiscent of 1990s Rajinikanth movies in his style and attire, outside the Tata Electronics iPhone hub.

Basha’s matrix of development was mostly dependent on real estate prices.

“Before the Tata Electronics unit, land prices were to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh per acre. Now, it is priced at around Rs 3 crore,” Basha added.

Upon rechecking with an industry source in the region, Basha’s claim turned out to be true.

India’s EV capital

To consider Hosur just one of the Indian cities and Krishnagiri as a normal LS constituency may well be wrong. Its story does not end with Ola and Tata units.

The Hosur-Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri (HKD) region is home to over 65 per cent of the total electric two-wheeler sales in India.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations numbers, the top three EV two-wheeler manufacturers are based out of Hosur — Ola Electric, TVS Motor Company, and Ather Energy.

This is in addition to the expansion projects of commercial vehicle players like Ashok Leyland, which houses a factory in Hosur.

“Hosur is indeed the EV capital. Now, what political leaders should consider is to ensure that the development also helps micro, small, and medium enterprises. We want the ecosystem to develop like that in the case of TVS Motor Company and Ashok Leyland,” said S Sundariya, president of HIA.

According to a study by Visual Capitalist, a Vancouver-based publisher, Hosur was ranked number 13 in the world among the list of cities with the fastest population growth, with an annual growth rate of 5.38 per cent. There are around 5,800 manufacturing units in and around Hosur itself, including around 150 large industries.

The units located at Hosur manufacture sophisticated products ranging from trucks, automobile parts, motorcycles, mopeds, textiles, canned fruit and fruit products, instant coffee, electronics, television sets, diesel engines, power shift transmissions, castings, forgings, cigarettes, abrasives, hosiery knitting needles to textile machinery.

Sundariya highlights some important statistics, saying that the turnover of the companies from the area comes to around Rs 4 trillion, and its annual goods and services tax contribution also amounts to Rs 50,000-60,000 crore.

“We are still dependent on Bangalore airport. We need an airport, Metro connectivity, and even direct rail connectivity to Chennai. The city needs proper infrastructure to improve connectivity too. Any political party coming to power should focus on these aspects as well,” Sundariya adds.

P Muthu, a farmer from the region, also has his wish list for candidates in the fray.

“Politicians should work together for infrastructure development. They should also ensure that the needs of farmers are met. Here, the battle is between the DMK and the AIADMK,” he says.

Basha, a hardcore DMK supporter, echoed this view.

“The DMK has done well for women, giving them free bus rides and offering many other schemes. This is likely to help them in getting women's votes,” Basha believes.

The water crisis in Bengaluru almost extends to Hosur.

“The authorities should ensure water availability for the people,” says Adhi.

Without discussion with a politician, Hosur’s story remains incomplete.

“The impact of the development and infrastructure works in the last few years will be more visible in another six months. As far as elections are concerned, the Congress has the upper hand,” adds K A Manoharan, a former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Hosur and national secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress.

“Hosur is witnessing a population explosion, thanks to rising industries. We need not only big industries but an entire ecosystem,” Sundariya explains.

As we drive back to Chennai, where the political heat is stronger, one could see a major change in addition to the growing infrastructure. Amid moped-dominated roads in Hosur, one could see visible signs of an EV revolution in India’s EV capital. And as far as election fever is concerned, the city is slowly gaining acceleration mode.