TIRUCHY: Out of the 41 constituencies in the nine districts in the central region of Tamil Nadu -- considered to be a swing region — Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, led by Vijay, acted as a disruptor to the victory of the candidates of the alliances led by both the Dravidian majors. The outcome, in some constituencies, has oscillated in favour of the TVK.
TVK won in 12 seats, while the DMK allies got victory in 21 seats, and the AIADMK allies won in eight constituencies.
However, the aura of the TVK factor put its candidates in second spot in most of the places, with third in some. In the central region, some of the senior ministers, including S Reghupathy and KN Nehru, had a close fight with unfamiliar TVK candidates, resulting in their victories in thin margins.
DMK minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi lost to a TVK candidate while another DMK scion TRB Rajaa lost his Mannargudi seat to AMMK’s S Kamaraj.
However, the DMK managed to hold the fort in the core delta districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagappattinam, and Mayiladuthurai.
In Pudukkottai, TVK managed to win in two out of the six constituencies.
In 2021, the DMK alliance won 37 out of the 41 seats in the region, while the AIADMK won four.
The scene in 2016 was in favour of the AIADMK, as the party, under the leadership of J Jayalalithaa, won 24 seats.
While DMK made efforts to retain its dominance, AIADMK was hoping for a revival in the 2026 election. Even though the TVK wave played a role, the AIADMK and DMK candidates performed well in the constituencies in Ariyalur and Perambalur districts.
In Tiruchy, which has the highest number of constituencies (nine) among the other districts in the region, TVK secured six seats. Facing the election without a strong regional leadership, the AIADMK managed to win only one seat in Tiruchy. In Karur district, however, despite the shift of V Senthilbalaji to the western region, the DMK won two of the four seats.
The caste arithmetic also seemed to have failed to help the Dravidian majors in the region.
The NDA’s hopes of riding on the caste arithmetic by aligning with TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK to consolidate Mukkulathor votes and the politically significant Mutharaiyar community seemed to have played only a minor role.