2 min readNew DelhiMay 5, 2026 01:52 PM IST
Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won the Tiruppattur constituency in Tamil Nadu Assembly by a razor-thin margin of one vote, snatching the seat from a sitting DMK minister.
TVK’s Seenivasa Sethupathy R won the seat with 83,375 votes, beating K.R. Periyakaruppan, the state government’s Minister of Co-operatives.
TVK delivered a stellar performance in its electoral debut, winning 108 seats. The ruling DMK was reduced to 74 from 159 seats it had won in 2021 elections. The AIADMK managed to win 47 seats, dropping from 66 it won in 2021.
The heaviest blow to the DMK came as Chief Minister M K Stalin lost his seat to the TVK’s VS Babu.
Among other setbacks for the DMK are its losses in Chennai, once a symbol of its urban relevance. In 2021, the DMK swept all 16 seats in Chennai. But this time, the TVK swept most of the stronghold, leaving the DMK with only a handful of seats.
In its campaign, the TVK has asserted that it ideologically leans to the centre-left and draws inspiration BR Ambedkar, Periyar and Kamaraj, stalwarts of social justice. It has called the BJP its “ideological opponent”, and the DMK its “political adversary” on grounds of dynastic politics.
Currently, the TVK’s has a vote share of approximately 32 per cent, which roughly matches that of the DMK alliance. The state witnessed its highest-ever voter turnout for an assembly election with 85.1% casting their votes this year.
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