DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday said the party accepts the people’s verdict and bows to it, after actor Vijay’s TVK emerged victorious in the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, which also saw Stalin losing in his home constituency Kolathur.
The counting of votes was held on Monday.
Stalin said the DMK, which functioned effectively as the ruling party, would now serve as a strong opposition party. He added that in his public life he had witnessed both victories and defeats.
“I was truthful to all sections of people; I acted as per conscience and worked beyond my capacity,” he said in a social media post.
“I bow to the people’s verdict. DMK worked well as a ruling party; from now on it will be a good opposition party. The DMK’s political journey will continue without any slackness,” he said.
Stalin further said ideology remains more important than victories and defeats. “We sought votes to continue our welfare schemes… we gave good governance and sought votes by underscoring our achievements,” he added.
The unassuming politician V S Babu drew attention after defeating Stalin in Kolathur. A former legislator, he had earlier won from the Purasawalkam Assembly constituency in Chennai in 2006 on a DMK ticket. Babu joined actor Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on February 7, 2026, and was later fielded from Kolathur to contest against Stalin.
Although DMK members had expected Stalin to win comfortably, citing the party’s welfare initiatives, Babu sprang a surprise by defeating the chief minister, who had held the Kolathur seat for three consecutive terms since 2011.
Babu won by a margin of 8,795 votes after 22 rounds of counting, securing 82,997 votes. Stalin polled 74,202 votes, while AIADMK candidate P Santhana Krishnan received 18,430 votes.
