COIMBATORE: The ruling DMK and its arch-rival AIADMK are keeping the stakes high in the western region. On one hand, the DMK wants to keep up the momentum they had built and improve their performance here, which was once considered AIADMK’s fort. While on the other, the AIADMK has to put up a great show if it wants to return to power in western Tamil Nadu.
When AIADMK lost power in 2021, the party managed to win 35 out of the total 57 seats in the region. Its allies, PMK and BJP, won four and two seats, respectively, showcasing AIADMK’s dominance. In the last two Assembly polls too, AIADMK alone won 45 seats (2016) and 39 seats (2011).
As per routine, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in Salem, SP Velumani in Coimbatore, and P Thangamani in Namakkal, who all belong to the dominant Gounder community in the region, played a crucial role in mobilising the community’s vote bank towards the ‘Two Leaves’ party.
The AIADMK was also hopeful of attracting the Vanniyar vote bank by joining hands with the PMK. However, it hit a roadblock with PMK founder S Ramadoss fielding his candidates, a move that is likely to split Vanniyar votes in their strongholds. Two days before the polling, senior Ramadoss appealed to his supporters not to vote for his son’s PMK, saying, “If my own blood turns into poison against me, my cadres will be my cure. If Sowmya wins in Dharmapuri, it will turn into ‘Adharmapuri’.” He didn’t mince his words.
AIADMK, which faced the 2021 Assembly election in alliance with the BJP, came out of the NDA in September 2023, only to return to it in April 2025. The natural bonding between the allies was missing in the initial stage of campaigning, due to various reasons, and only in the later stage did they start coming together. The BJP, which won two seats in 2021, is contesting in seven seats now, fielding prominent faces like Union Minister of State L Murugan in Avinashi and sitting Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan in Coimbatore North, hoping to increase its tally in the Assembly.
After the demise of former CM J Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK started slowly losing its ground in western TN. First, in the 2019 LS election, the party lost all nine seats in the Western region. Then, in the 2021 Assembly elections, the DMK and its allies managed to win 16 out of the total 58 seats in the region. The DMK alone managed to win 13 seats, improving its performance from 10 seats in 2016 and three seats in 2011.
Capitalising on this, after forming the government, DMK showed keen interest in the West. In the 2022 urban local body election, with the help of V Senthil Balaji’s electioneering, the party won a majority of positions, sending a shockwave among AIADMK supporters. Then, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, DMK strengthened its presence by winning all seats in the region. It also started eating into the AIADMK’s traditional scheduled caste and minority vote banks.
To keep up the momentum, the party had appointed Senthil Balaji as the election in-charge of Coimbatore, Tiruppur, the Nilgiris, Karur, and R Sakkarapani as the election in-charge of Erode, Salem, Namakkal, and Krishnagiri, while EV Velu took care of Dharmapuri. Aiming to overcome AIADMK’s dominance over Gounder community votes, the party made Senthil Balaji, who also belongs to the same community, contest from Coimbatore South. In fact, the party had started working on the ground months in advance and fielded new faces in many places. It hopes that Senthil Balaji will replicate the ‘magic’ he did during the local body election again in this election.
In the western region, the AIADMK had lost one of its strongmen, KA Sengottaiyan, a nine-time MLA, who joined hands with TVK after being expelled from the party last year. Soon after, he started working for TVK, shaping up the party’s organisational structure. Even then, the party looked weak in terms of having adequate booth agents on the polls, and for many of the cadres, the election process itself is a new thing. Whether Sengottaiyan plays a role in playing spoilsport to AIADMK by splitting votes remains to be seen.
Though Vijay’s roadshow and rally in the region attracted a huge crowd, if it will get converted into votes will be known on the counting day.