DMK loses 12 of 40 seats it had south TN, AIADMK loses face in Madurai

Madurai: With Vijay's TVK making inroads in many constituencies, the performance of DMK and AIADMK dipped in southern Tamil Nadu. In the 2021 election, DMK alliance had won in 40 of the 58 constituencies across 10 districts, whereas AIADMK won the remaining 18 constituencies. This time, DMK front has won 28, with the dravidian major bagging 23 of them, Congress, 4, and CPM, 1. AIADMK managed to win only five constituencies. BJP, which was in AIADMK alliance, drew a blank. In contrast, TVK has won in 25 seats in the southern districts in its maiden outing.Madurai was once the stronghold of AIADMK, but this time, it has been decimated with all candidates, including former MLAs R B Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju and V V Rajan Chellappa facing defeat. In the 2016 polls, the party had won eight of the 10 constituencies in the district, and DMK two. In the 2021 polls, both DMK and AIADMK bagged five constituencies each. However, this time, TVK won in eight constituencies, while DMK and Congress shared one constituency each.DMK has retained three of the four seats the alliance won in Ramanathapuram in 2021: Ramanathapuram, Paramakudi and Mudukulathur. However, TVK candidate Rajeev defeated incumbent Congress MLA R M Karumanickam by 2,513 votes in Tiruvadanai. In Dindigul district, DMK ministers I Periyasamy and R Sakkarapani emerged victorious in Athoor and Oddanchatram respectively. Incumbent Palani MLA I P Senthilkumar, who contested from Dindigul, defeated AIADMK heavyweight Dindigul C Sreenivasan. DMK also won in Vedasandur. Out of the seven constituencies in the district, DMK won four, and AIADMK two (Palani and Natham) while TVK won in Nilakottai.In Virudhunagar, ministers K K S S R Ramachandran and Thangam Thennarasu won in Aruppukottai and Tiruchuli after a tough contest. DMK's A Kadarkarairaj defeated BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran. In Virudhunagar, TVK's P Selvam defeated DMDK's Vijaya Prabhakaran by 9,391 votes. TVK candidate S Keerthana defeated sitting Congress MLA G Ashokan by 11,670 votes, pushing AIADMK heavyweight K T Rajenthra Bhalaji to third place. TVK also won in Srivilliputhur and Rajapalayam. Out of the seven constituencies in the district, TVK won in four while DMK won in three.TVK made a clean sweep of all four constituencies in Sivaganga district: Karaikudi, Sivaganga, Manamadurai and Tiruppatur. In a tight contest, TVK's R Seenivasa Sethupathy defeated DMK minister K R Periyakaruppan by one vote in Tirupatur. In Karaikudi, TVK's T K Prabhu defeated Congress MLA S Mangudi by 46,074 votes. In Theni, DMK won in Bodinayakkanur and Andipatti while TVK bagged Periyakulam and Cumbum. Former chief minister O Panneerselvam, who recently joined DMK, won in Bodinayakkanur. In Andipatti, DMK's sitting MLA A Maharajan defeated his brother and AIADMK candidate A Logirajan for the third time.In Tuticorin, TVK bagged three of six seats: Tuticorin, Srivaikuntam and Ottapidaram, while DMK won in Vilathikulam, Tiruchendur and Kovilpatti. TVK's Srinath defeated DMK minister P Geetha Jeevan in Tuticorin. However, minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan defeated TVK's J Murugan. While DMK won in Kovilpatti, incumbent AIADMK MLA Kadambur Raju was pushed to third place.TVK bagged three of the five constituencies in Tirunelveli district: Nanguneri, Tirunelveli and Radhapuram. TVK candidate Sathish Christopher defeated incumbent MLA and assembly speaker M Appavu by 12,313 votes. While DMK won in Palayamkottai, AIADMK won in Ambasamudram.In Tenkasi, DMK won in four (Vasudevanallur, Kadayanallur, Tenkasi, Alangulam) of five constituencies, while AIADMK won in Sankarankovil. Manoj Pandian, who recently joined DMK, won in Alangulam. Kanyakumari district kept TVK at bay. Out of the six seats, DMK and its allies Congress and CPM won in five while AIADMK won in Kanyakumari constituency. TVK candidates secured second place in Vilavancode, Killiyoor, Padmanabhapuram, Nagercoil and Colachel, and third in Kanyakumari.