Madurai: Continuing the statewide trend, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) juggernaut swept through Madurai district, securing eight of its ten assembly constituencies. The Congress and DMK shared the remaining two seats. The results marked a significant shift in the political landscape of the district.
Key Ministers Defeated
Among the prominent losers were two DMK ministers: P Moorthy in Madurai East and P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan in Madurai Central. In the 2021 assembly election, DMK and AIADMK had each won five seats in the district.
In Madurai East, P Moorthy, who had won the past two elections, held a lead for the first seven rounds against TVK's S Karthikeyan. However, by round eight, the tables turned, and Karthikeyan won by 16,547 votes. In Madurai Central, IT and digital services minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, who won in 2016 and 2021, conceded the lead from the first round to TVK's Madurai Madhar Badhurudeen, eventually losing by 19,128 votes. AIADMK alliance partner Puthiya Neethi Katchi candidate, actor-director Sundar C, secured third place with 33,538 votes.
AIADMK Heavyweights Fall
The AIADMK also suffered major losses as three of its heavyweights—R B Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju, and V V Rajan Chellappa—lost their seats. Sellur K Raju, who won from Madurai West in the past three elections, finished third behind TVK's S R Thangapandi and DMK's R Balaji. R Balaji led in the first round, but TVK took over thereafter, with Thangapandi winning by 11,931 votes.
In Thirumangalam, R B Udhayakumar, deputy leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly and winner of the past two elections, lost to DMK's M Manimaran by 23,807 votes.
In Thiruparankundram, incumbent AIADMK MLA V V Rajan Chellappa finished third behind TVK's C T R Nirmalkumar and DMK candidate Kiruthiga Thangapandi. Nirmalkumar won by a margin of 41,553 votes.
Other Constituency Results
In Sholavandan, TVK candidate M V Karuppiah secured 63,907 votes and won by a margin of 2,678 against incumbent DMK MLA A Venkatesan, who got 61,229 votes. AIADMK candidate K Manickam came third with 49,494 votes.
In Madurai North, TVK's A Kallanai secured 72,853 votes and won by 18,038 votes against DMK's sitting MLA G Thalapathi, while AIADMK's P Saravanan finished third.
In Madurai South, TVK's M M Gopison secured 62,415 votes and defeated MDMK's sitting MLA M Boominathan by 21,529 votes. BJP candidate Raama Sreenivasan was pushed to third place with 31,100 votes.
In Usilampatti, TVK candidate M Vijay defeated incumbent AIADMK MLA I Mahendran by 1,805 votes, while Congress candidate T Saravanakumar secured third place.
In Melur, Congress candidate P Viswanathan won by a margin of 2,724 votes against TVK's A Maduraiveeran, pushing incumbent AIADMK MLA P Periyapullan to third.
Comparison with 2021 Results
In the 2021 election, DMK won in Madurai East, Sholavandan, Madurai North, Madurai South, and Madurai Central, while AIADMK won in Melur, Madurai West, Thirumangalam, Thiruparankundram, and Usilampatti. This time, TVK captured eight of these ten seats, signaling a dramatic political realignment in the district.
