Led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, at least nine of the ruling DMK’s ministers were trailing at 13.15 hours as counting of ballots was under way for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

Stalin trailed his newly-formed Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) rival V S Babu by nearly 8,000 votes, but his son and deputy chief minister Udayanidhi Stalin held a slender lead of over 1,200 votes.

Senior DMK leader and minister for water resources trailed his AIADMK rival V Ramu by over 6,000 votes in Katpadi. Another senior leader and minister Ma Subramanian trailed his TVK rival M Arul Prakasam by 12,000 votes from the Saidapet constituency.

One of Udayanidhi Stalin’s confidants and Tamil Nadu education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi trailed his TVK rival by over 400 votes from the Thiruverumbur constituency, while another senior minister E V Velu was behind his TVK rival by over 1,000 votes.

Speaker trails

Tamil Nadu MSME minister T N Anbarasan was behind his TVK rival from the Alandur constituency by over 11,000 votes, while senior leader and municipal administration minister K N Nehru edged ahead by over 5,000 votes after trailing when the counting began.

Tamil Nadu Speaker M Appavu was second in the Radhapuram constituency with his TVK rival in the lead, while the Child and Women’s Welfare Minister trailed her TVK rival Srinath by over 20,000 votes.

High-profile TRB Raja, minister for industries, trailed his rival from the AMMK — a partner of the National Democratic Alliance — by 2,760 votes.

Published on May 4, 2026