Virudhunagar, a trading hub 50 km south of Madurai in South Tamil Nadu, is seeing a four-way contest, with the DMK’s ally, the Dravida Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), represented by the 34-year-old Vijaya Prabhakaran V; AIADMK’s VG Ganesan; TVK’s SP Selvam and Naam Tamizhar Katchi’s Lakshmanan.
The constituency, among the oldest in Tamil Nadu, is dominated by the Nadar community. It is known for its trading strength and a significant portion of its vote base has traditionally favoured either the Congress or the DMK. Also, the Kammavar community is among the dominant vote base, along with the Nadars and the Mukkulathors. While the DMDK as an ally of the DMK is believed to have an edge, it cannot afford to take for granted the entry of C Joseph Vijay’s newly founded TVK, which is drawing women voters, first-time voters and the youth.
As an ally of the DMK, Vijaya Prabhakar has also drawn the ire of party loyalists who have always considered the DMK as an arch rival. Under the AIADMK alliance in the 2011 Assembly elections, the DMDK had emerged as the primary opposition in the Assembly, displacing even the DMK.
DMDK’s challenge
Talking to businessline before starting out on the campaign trail in Virudhunagar constituency, Prabhakar pointed out that in the recent 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he had lost by a mere 4,300 votes to Manickam Tagore of the Indian National Congress, who had polled 36.3 per cent votes against his 35.9 per cent. He believes he can do better. He had joined the DMDK, now headed by his mother Premallatha V, who is contesting from Vridhachalam, at a time when the party was on a slide following the founder’s demise.
On the TVK factor, if the party is wooing away youngsters, it’s an issue, that affects all parties not just the DMDK. The DMDK too had seen such support when it was started two decades back by his father. But Vijayakant loyalists will not shift, he feels. The major issues in the constituency are the basic amenities, particularly water supply. Previously, water supply was available only once in two weeks, but now the DMK government has improved the situation to once in four days.
The allies are now targeting daily supply, he said. Accompanied by the incumbent DMK MLA ARR Srinivasan, a three-time MLA from Virudhunagar, he started on the campaign trail. At each stop, he highlighted the development measures undertaken by the DMK and promised to continue the good work.
TVK’s trail
At Kammapatti, in Virudhunagar, a group of women and children were seen standing on the roadside waving TVK’s yellow and red flag as shrill whistles pierced the air. Vinitha, a housewife is there along with her neighbours. Why do they support actor Vijay? The answer is simple. We like him is the standard reply. When the TVK candidate Selvam enters, the crowds mob him. The group welcomes him ritually with harathi, members in the crowd jostle him for selfies. It does not matter if Selvam is not a celebrity — to them he represents Vijay and that is good enough.
AIADMK, new face
The AIADMK has fielded a relatively new face — VG Ganesan — an industrialist from neighbouring Sivakasi town, and a member of the Thevar community, which has a strong presence in neighbouring Sattur and Sivakasi. Whether he can break the DMK’s winning streak in this Assembly constituency remains to be seen.
Published on April 14, 2026