TVK's VS Babu A Giantkiller, Defeats MK Stalin At His Kolathur Bastion

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's VS Babu on Monday defeated Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin at his stronghold, the Kolathur assembly seat, in what is one of the biggest electoral upsets in the 2026 assembly elections.

Babu, whose TVK is fighting the maiden elections, defeated the DMK stalwart by about 9,000 votes after 22 rounds of counting of votes polled in the April 23 state elections, according to the data available on the Election Commission website.

While Babu polled more than 82,000 votes, Stalin, who held the seat since 2011, got around 73,000. AIADMK's R Santhanakrishnan stood in the third position with 14,000 votes.

In 2021, Stalin won the seat by a margin of 70,384 votes against AIADMK's Aadhi Rajaram, who is now contesting the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency and is currently trailing Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Babu is currently the joint general secretary of TVK, which was launched by actor Vijay to take on the DMK and AIADMK in 2024.

TVK Setback For DMK, AIADMK In Tamil Nadu Elections

The TVK looks set to deal a big blow to the ruling DMK and the main opposition party, AIADMK, the latest trends on the EC website showed.

Vijay's party is currently ahead in 107 of the state's 234 seats.

Former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK is leading in 47 seats, while the DMK is ahead in 35 seats.

According to the EC data, more than a dozen Tamil Nadu ministers, including DMK general secretary Duraimurugan, Thangam Thennarasu, TRB Rajaa, Ma Subramanian, PK Sekar Babu, EV Velu, KN Nehru, Getha Jeevan and KKSSR Ramachandran, are trailing.

If the trends maintain, 51-year-old Vijay, who is leading from both his seats -- Tiruchi (East) and Perambur -- could as well ensure the biggest electoral upset in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay's party would create history if it crosses the majority mark of 118 seats. No party has managed to assume power in Tamil Nadu in just two years after being founded.