Published May 04, 2026 | 9:48 PM ⚊ Updated May 04, 2026 | 9:52 PM
MK Stalin and Vijay.
Synopsis: TVK, led by Joseph Vijay, emerged as a major political force with a sweeping performance, defeating several senior leaders including Chief Minister M. K. Stalin and multiple ministers. The election marked a dramatic shift in Tamil Nadu politics, with high-profile wins, surprise defeats, and a significant erosion of DMK’s ministerial strength.
In the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which was launched just two years ago, emerged as the single largest party. Though it did not achieve a clear majority on its own, the party has proved its strength by securing nearly 1.7 crore votes and around 35 percent vote share under the leadership of actor-turned-politician Joseph Vijay.
In the wave created by Vijay, several former and sitting ministers were swept away. Notably, Chief Minister MK Stalin, who had won three consecutive times from Kolathur, lost this time to TVK candidate VS Babu. It is noteworthy that VS Babu was previously an MLA from the DMK. With this, Stalin has faced defeat in an Assembly election after nine contests.
TVK leader Joseph Vijay contested from Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies. He won Perambur by a margin of 52,570 votes and Tiruchirappalli East by more than 26,000 votes.
AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami secured a landslide victory in the Edappadi constituency with a margin of 98,110 votes.
The current Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin lost Kolathur to TVK’s VS Babu by a margin of 8,795 votes, a seat he had held for three consecutive terms.
Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Chief Ministerial candidate Seeman contested from Karaikudi but finished in third place, trailing TVK’s winning candidate Dr Prabhu by over 70,000 votes.
Out of the 34 ministers in the DMK government, two were not given tickets to contest this election.
Among the remaining 32 ministers who contested, 15 ministers suffered defeat, while 17 ministers secured victory.
Udhayanidhi Stalin secured victory from the Chepauk–Triplicane constituency with a margin of 7,140 votes, while DMK’s general secretary Duraimurugan, who contested from Katpadi, lost to DR M. Sudhakar of TVK by 7309 votes.
Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who contested from Saidapet, lost to TVK’s M. Arul Prakash by 28,514 votes.
IT Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, who contested from Madurai Central, lost to TVK’s Madhar Badhurudeen by 19,128 votes.
Similarly, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, who contested from Thiruverumbur in Tiruchirappalli, lost to TVK candidate Vijayakumar by 8,705 votes.
Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, from Mannargudi, suffered a narrow defeat, losing by just 1,566 votes to AMMK candidate S. Kamaraj.
Among the ministers, Avadi’s S. M. Nasar recorded the highest margin of defeat, losing by 74,829 votes to TVK’s R. Ramesh Kumar.
In this election, BJP state president Nainar Nagendran, who had confidently predicted an NDA government, contested from Sattur but lost to DMK’s A. Kadarkarai Raj by 6,050 votes.
Similarly, senior BJP leader and former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who contested from Mylapore, lost to TVK’s P. Venkataramanan by 37,772 votes and could secure only third place.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai also contested again from Sriperumbudur but lost by more than 50,000 votes to TVK’s K. Thennarasu.
At the same time, two prominent women candidates registered victories. PMK’s Sowmiya Anbumani won from Dharmapuri by 20,896 votes, while DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth, contesting from Virudhachalam as part of the DMK alliance, won by 2,387 votes.
However, her son Vijay Prabhakaran, who contested from Virudhunagar, lost to TVK’s B. Selvam by 9,391 votes. It is noteworthy that he had also narrowly lost from the same constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Similarly, AIADMK senior leader and former minister R. B. Udhayakumar lost in Thirumangalam by 23,807 votes to DMK’s M. Manimaran.
Another senior AIADMK leader and former minister K. P. Munusamy suffered a narrow defeat, losing by just 138 votes to DMK candidate Srinivasan.
In this Assembly election, TVK, which is set to form the government in Tamil Nadu after securing widespread victories, saw several of its key candidates win across constituencies.
The party’s general secretary N Anand won from T. Nagar with a margin of 13,027 votes.
In Villivakkam, the party’s election wing general secretary Aadhav Arjuna secured victory with 17,302 votes.
In the communally sensitive Thiruparankundram constituency, TVK functionary CTR Nirmal Kumar won decisively by 41,553 votes.
Actor Srinath, a close associate of Vijay, contested from Thoothukudi against minister Geetha Jeevan and won by 37,731 votes.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
