Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) robust performance in urban areas have unsettled the calculations of the DMK and the AIADMK in Karur district.

Out of four constituencies, the DMK won in Kulithalai and Aravakurichi, the TVK tasted success in Krishnarayapuram and the AIADMK in Karur. R. Elango and Suriyanur Chandran were the winners from Kulithalai and Aravakurichi constituencies respectively, former Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar won from Karur constituency. M. Sathya was elected from Krishnarayapuram constituency.

Though the TVK managed to win only one constituency in the district, its candidates put up an unexpected spirited fight in all four constituencies.

While the Dravidian majors chose to field well known faces in four constituencies such as Karur, Aravakurichi, Kulithalai, and Krishnarayapuram, the candidates, who took on the DMK and the AIADMK candidates, were novices. They were not well known and they did not have strong political and financial backgrounds. The DMK chose to shift its strongman V. Senthilbalaji to Coimbatore South, it fielded M. Thiyagarajan, a well known person in the textile industry, in Karur constituency. Similarly, the party fielded incumbent MLA Elango from Aravakurichi constituency. Chandran and C.K. Raja were the candidates of the DMK from Kulithalai and Aravakurichi constituencies. All four candidates had the full backing of Mr. Senthilbalaji, who vowed to get all the four elected. Led by V. Ashok Kumar, brother of Mr. Senthilbalaji, the DMK workers worked hard to win over the confidence of the voters.

While the AIADMK fielded Mr. Vijayabhaskar from Karur, S. Karunakaran, son of former Minister Pappa Sundaram, was the party nominee in Kulithalai constituency. It gave a chance to S. Dhivya, a medical practitioner in Karur, in Krishnarayapuram constituency and fielded K. Selvakumar in Aravakurichi constituency.

V.P. Mathiyazhagan, who was named as an accused in the Karur stampede case that claimed 41 lives during the rally on September 27, 2025, was the only known face among the TVK candidates. Unlike the candidates and cadres of the DMK and the AIADMK, the TVK candidates did not work hard. Their campaign revealed that they were well short of a calculated and systematic campaign. They chose to skip many areas in the constituencies.

But, the analysis showed that the TVK candidates gave sleepless moments in all four constituencies. While its nominee Sathya shocked Dr. Dhivya of the AIADMK by winning from Krishnarayapuram constituency with a margin of 1744 votes, the TVK candidates finished the race by securing second position in the remaining three constituencies. Mr. Mathiyazhagan narrowly missed the winning rope in Karur constituency with a margin of 1,841 votes. He pushed the DMK candidate to third position. Similarly, G. Balasubramani lost the race by a slender margin of 233 votes in Kulithalai constituency, thereby pushing the AIADMK candidate to third spot. It was a similar situation in Aravakurichi also.

Analysts feel that the TVK candidates had scored better in urban areas than rural areas. Whenever the votes polled in urban areas were counted, the TVK established lead over the DMK and the AIADMK in all four constituencies.

“The pattern of votes secured by the TVK candidate in urban areas is surprising. It is unimaginable,” said Mr. Vijayabhaskar, who managed to wrest the Karur constituency from the DMK.