MADURAI: In the 2021 assembly election, the two Dravidian major parties, DMK and AIADMK, each won five of the ten constituencies in Madurai district. However, in the 2026 elections, actor Vijay's TVK, contesting its first election, has made significant inroads across the district, including in Madurai East and Madurai Central constituencies, where sitting DMK ministers P Moorthy and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan are trailing in second place.
Key Constituency Results
In Melur constituency, Congress candidate P Viswanathan was declared the winner with 54,815 votes, while the TVK candidate secured second place with 52,263 votes, pushing the incumbent AIADMK MLA P Periyapullan alias Selvam to third place. In Madurai South constituency, TVK candidate MM Gopison won with 62,415 votes, defeating incumbent MDMK MLA M Boominathan (40,886 votes) and BJP candidate Raama Sreenivasan (31,100 votes).
Madurai East and Central
In Madurai East, after Round 18, TVK candidate S Karthikeyan leads with 70,389 votes, while sitting DMK minister P Moorthy trails with 63,716 votes. AIADMK candidate K Mahendran is in third place with 19,393 votes. In Madurai Central, after Round 8, TVK candidate Madhar Madharudeen leads with 31,370 votes, while sitting DMK minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan trails with 17,394 votes. Puthiya Neethi Katchi (AIADMK alliance) candidate Sundar C is third with 16,441 votes.
Setback for AIADMK Heavyweights
AIADMK heavyweights and sitting MLAs RB Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju, and VV Rajan Chellappa are in third place in Thirumangalam, Madurai West, and Thiruparakundram constituencies, respectively. In Thirumangalam, after Round 16, DMK candidate M Manimaran leads with 52,244 votes, while TVK candidate N Sathishkumar trails with 41,480 votes. Deputy leader of opposition and incumbent MLA RB Udhayakumar is third with 40,568 votes.
In Madurai West, after Round 12, TVK candidate SR Thangapandi leads with 44,215 votes, while DMK candidate R Balaji trails with 41,570 votes, pushing incumbent AIADMK MLA Sellur K Raju to third place with 21,220 votes. In Thiruparankundram, after Round 11, TVK candidate CTR Nirmal Kumar leads with 47,581 votes, while DMK candidate Kiruthiga Thangapandi trails with 33,574 votes. Incumbent AIADMK MLA VV Rajan Chellappa is third with 20,868 votes.
Other Constituencies
In Madurai North, after Round 12, TVK candidate A Kallanai leads with 47,795 votes, while sitting MLA G Thalapathi trails with 32,644 votes. AIADMK candidate P Saravanan is third with 15,897 votes. In Usilampatti, after Round 10, TVK candidate M Vijay leads with 27,814 votes, while incumbent AIADMK MLA I Mahendran trails with 25,627 votes. Congress candidate R Saravanakumar is third with 23,078 votes. In Sholavandan, after Round 7, incumbent MLA A Venkatesan leads with 23,098 votes, while TVK candidate MV Karuppiah trails with 22,998 votes. AIADMK candidate K Manickam is third with 17,681 votes.
Background
In the 2021 assembly election, DMK won in Madurai East, Sholavandan, Madurai North, Madurai South, and Madurai Central. AIADMK won in Melur, Madurai West, Thirumangalam, Thiruparankundram, and Usilampatti. The 2026 results show a major shift, with TVK emerging as a strong contender in many of these constituencies.
