TVK Candidate Defeats DMK Minister By Just 1 Vote In Tamil Nadu's Tiruppattur

A senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, who also served as a minister in the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government, lost the Tiruppattur Assembly seat by one vote, according to official results released by the Election Commission.

KR Periyakaruppan was seeking re-election but was defeated by Vijay-led newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate. It is recorded as one of the closest contests in recent elections.

Seenivasa Sethupathy R Sethupathy secured 83,375 votes, while Periyakaruppan got 83,374, falling short by one vote.

Periyakaruppan had represented the Tiruppattur seat multiple times and was contesting for another term. In a closely fought election, the TVK candidate managed to edge past him in the final count.

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There were a total of 15 candidates in the fray in the 2026 Assembly elections, including BJP candidate Thirumaran KC, AIPTMMK candidate Umadevi S and NTK candidate Ramya Mohan. 

Other independent candidates include Shanmugam M, Bakiyalakshmi M, Piraman P, Mallika A, Dr Vinayaga Meyyarasu T, Panchavarnam M, Sethu P, Marimuthu S and Raja KPM.

Tiruppattur reported a voter turnout of 80.78 per cent in the 2026 elections.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, Periyakaruppan won the Tiruppattur seat, defeating Marudhu Alaguraj of AIADMK by a margin of 37,374 votes. 

TVK performed well in its debut and ended the duopoly of the DMK and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which have ruled the state for decades. The party won 108 out of 234 seats. However, it will need to look for alliances to form the government, as the majority mark is 118.

DMK finished second with 59 seats, while the AIADMK came third with 47 seats. Congress and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) managed to win 5 and 4 seats, respectively.