Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has secured his seat in the Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency, narrowly defeating Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate D Selvam,.
Udhayanidhi won by a margin of 7,140 votes, after a closely contested race that stretched across 17 rounds of counting, with results confirmed around 6 pm. AIADMK candidate Aadi Rajaram finished a distant third, while the current sitting chief Minister M.K.Stalin has lost his seat to TVK leader Babu.
The contest tightened significantly during counting, with Udhayanidhi holding a slim lead of 1,048 votes by the eighth round. However, he gradually widened the gap to 10,209 votes by the 14th round before the final result settled.
In the broader electoral picture, actor-politician Vijay’s TVK marked a striking debut, emerging as a major force by leading in over 100 constituencies as of 5 pm. Meanwhile, the DMK faced a steep setback in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with its seat tally declining sharply compared to its previous strength of 133 seats in the 234-member House. By 5 pm, the party had secured 6 seats and was leading in 53, while TVK had won 10 seats and was ahead in 99 constituencies.
If the DMK ends up forming the principal opposition, Udhayanidhi is likely to emerge as its leader in the Assembly.
The Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni seat, part of the Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency, has long been considered a DMK stronghold. Former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had won from the Chepauk segment three times—in 1996, 2001 and 2006—before delimitation merged it with Thiruvallikeni in 2011. Since then, senior DMK leader J Anbazhagan had represented the constituency in 2011 and 2016.
The erstwhile Triplicane constituency had also historically leaned towards the DMK, except for a single AIADMK win in 2006, prior to its merger.
Udhayanidhi’s political journey began within the party organisation when he was appointed managing director of *Murasoli*, the DMK’s newspaper. He later became youth wing secretary in 2019, a position once held by his father, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. After entering electoral politics in 2021, he was elevated to Deputy Chief Minister in 2024, mirroring Stalin’s earlier tenure in the same post under M. Karunanidhi.
Often described as part of the DMK’s political lineage spanning three generations, Udhayanidhi has frequently been at the centre of criticism from opposition parties over allegations of dynastic politics.
His rival, D Selvam, is a former general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. He joined TVK in March 2026 after being suspended from the Congress over alleged anti-party activities. |
