SALEM/NAMAKKAL: The electoral landscape in Salem and Namakkal districts witnessed a significant shift in the latest results, with the AIADMK's earlier dominance being challenged and the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) making notable inroads, while the DMK failed to secure a single seat in both districts.
In Salem, which has 11 Assembly constituencies, the AIADMK had earlier won 10 seats in both the 2016 and 2021 elections, with the lone exception being Salem North, which was retained by DMK Minister R Rajendran in both elections. However, this time, the trend changed considerably, with TVK securing four constituencies, leaving AIADMK with seven seats and the DMK drawing a blank.
In the Edappadi constituency, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, contesting for the eighth time, won with 1,48,933 votes, registering a margin of 98,110 votes, which is the highest margin recorded in the constituency so far. While his victory was decisive, what stood out was the performance of an independent candidate, K Premkumar, who secured the second position with the support of TVK after the party's official candidate's nomination was rejected.
This made Edappadi the only constituency among the 234 in Tamil Nadu where an independent candidate finished as the runner-up. The DMK was pushed to the third position, securing 44,011 votes.
The AIADMK retained six other constituencies, largely in the rural belt. Sitting MLAs were re-elected in Attur (SC), where AP Jayasankaran won by a margin of 15,318 votes; Gangavalli (SC), where A Nalladurai secured a margin of 14,404 votes; and Omalur, where the margin stood at 14,539 votes. In Yercaud (ST), Usharani P won by 2,189 votes, while S Vetrivel won Sangagiri by 9,517 votes, and G Venkatachalam retained Mettur with a margin of 19,011 votes.
TVK's victories in Salem were concentrated in urban constituencies, with the party winning Salem West, Salem South and Salem North, along with one more seat. In Salem North, TVK candidate K Sivakumar defeated sitting Minister R Rajendran by a margin of 14,034 votes, marking a significant shift in a constituency that had previously been the DMK's only stronghold in the district.
Overall, out of the 11 constituencies in Salem, the DMK failed to win any seat and managed to secure the runner-up position in only four constituencies, while being pushed to third place in the remaining seven.
In neighbouring Namakkal, which has six constituencies, TVK registered a dominant performance by winning five seats — Kumarapalayam, Tiruchengode, Namakkal, Senthamangalam (ST) and Rasipuram — while the AIADMK retained only Paramathi Velur, and the DMK again failed to secure a single seat.
In Kumarapalayam, former AIADMK Minister P Thangamani, who had won all three elections since the constituency was formed in 2008, was defeated by TVK candidate C Vijayalakshmi. In Tiruchengode, TVK's policy and propaganda general secretary KG Arunraj won by 28,172 votes, defeating the AIADMK candidate.
In Rasipuram, sitting DMK MLA and Minister M Mathiventhan was defeated by TVK's D Logesh Tamilselvan, son of former Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. BJP candidate SD Premkumar, son of senior leader VP Duraisamy, secured the second position in the constituency.
The AIADMK's lone victory in Namakkal came in Paramathi Velur, where S Sekar defeated the DMK candidate by a narrow margin of 308 votes.
In Namakkal too, the DMK failed to win any seat and managed to secure the runner-up position only in Paramathi Velur, while being pushed to third place in the remaining five constituencies, marking a complete reversal from the 2021 elections when the party had won four seats in the district.
