Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader VS Babu has defeated DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin in the Kolathur Assembly constituency, marking one of the most high-profile upsets of the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections. He secured victory by a margin of 9,192 votes after 22 rounds of counting, according to Election Commission data. Babu polled over 82,000 votes, while Stalin received around 73,000 votes. AIADMK candidate R Santhanakrishnan finished third with nearly 14,000 votes.
Stalin’s shift to Kolathur in 2011 itself followed his move from the Thousand Lights constituency, where he had won four of six elections. While the DMK secured victory in Kolathur that year, the relatively tighter margin reportedly drew internal scrutiny within the party.
VS Babu was closely associated with that phase, having been in charge of Stalin’s campaign and serving as the North Chennai district in-charge at the time. Following the narrow 2011 result, he was reportedly held responsible for the performance and subsequently removed from his organisational role, with PK Shekhar Babu taking over as district chief.
The outcome is being seen as a major political reversal in Kolathur, a constituency long regarded as one of Stalin’s safest strongholds since its creation ahead of the 2011 Assembly elections.
Stalin had first contested and won from Kolathur in 2011 after shifting from Thousand Lights, where he had won four out of six elections. In 2011, he secured a narrow win by 2,734 votes against AIADMK’s Saidai Duraisamy, a result that reportedly triggered internal scrutiny within the DMK over campaign management.
VS Babu, at that time, was closely involved in Stalin’s campaign and served as the North Chennai district in-charge. Following the narrow result, he was reportedly held accountable for the performance and was later removed from organisational responsibilities, with PK Shekhar Babu replacing him."
Over the years, Stalin strengthened his hold on Kolathur, winning by 37,730 votes in 2016 against JCD Prabhakar and by a massive 70,384 votes in 2021 against Aadi Rajaram of the AIADMK. This made Kolathur widely regarded as a DMK fortress until the 2026 reversal.
Babu’s Political Journey
VS Babu’s political trajectory has seen multiple shifts across parties. After leaving the DMK, he joined the AIADMK in June 2016 and later moved to TVK in February 2026. He currently serves as the joint general secretary of the party, founded by actor Vijay in 2024.
His victory in Kolathur is being viewed as both a personal political comeback and a symbolic setback for the DMK in one of Chennai’s most high-profile constituencies. Following the declaration of results, Babu visited the Loyola College counting centre, where he collected his winning certificate.
Separately, early trends from the Election Commission indicated a strong debut for TVK, with the party leading in 107 of 234 seats. The AIADMK was ahead in 42 seats, while the DMK was leading in 35.
Several senior DMK leaders, including ministers such as Duraimurugan, Thangam Thennarasu, TRB Rajaa, Ma Subramanian, PK Sekar Babu, EV Velu, KN Nehru, Geetha Jeevan and KKSSR Ramachandran, were also trailing in their constituencies, according to the trends. |
