MK Stalin Loses Kolathur Stronghold To TVK's VS Babu

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

Babu, whose TVK is fighting the maiden elections, defeated the DMK stalwart by more than 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 received 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 over 70,000 votes against AIADMK's Aadhi Rajaram, who lost the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency to Stalin's son, Udhayanidhi Stalin.

VS Babu, A TVK Giantkiller

VS Babu has formerly been associated with the DMK and AIADMK, the two parties that have dominated Tamil Nadu politics.

The 75-year-old served as the Purasawalkam MLA from 2006 to 2011. He was also the DMK's district secretary for north Chennai until 2011.

He was in charge of the Kolathur constituency for the 2011 assembly elections. He, however, was reportedly questioned by the DMK for Stalin's narrow victory and was replaced.

He later joined the AIADMK.

He then joined TVK this year and is currently the joint general secretary of the party, 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.