TIRUPPUR: In the 2026 Assembly election, the AIADMK has broken the jinx which was prevailing for a long time in the Kangayam Assembly constituency — an MLA who wins once never wins again. AIADMK's NSN Nataraj, won in 2011, has now secured victory once again.
Meanwhile, MP Saminathan, the DMK Deputy General Secretary and Minister who contested the current election anticipating a second victory, was defeated. Earlier, in the 2021 election, Saminathan contested here and won.
The constituency has been facing Assembly elections since 1952. The AIADMK has won the maximum, ten times (including 2026), followed by the Congress with five wins and the DMK with three.
In 1991, J Jayalalithaa directly contested and won in this constituency. However, she resigned her MLA post from Kangeyam constituency as she won from the Bargur constituency as well. Subsequently, in the by-election held that same year, RM Veerappan, a trusted aide of Jayalalithaa, contested and won.
Until before the 2026 Assembly election, whenever an election approached, this jinx became a widely discussed topic in the Kangayam constituency. The reason — most people who won in the constituency for the first time did not get a second opportunity.
However, many who had previously won in the constituency failed to secure a second victory, even though they contested again. The political careers of many who won here did not shine brightly in later years, except for a few. Against this backdrop, the AIADMK has now broken the jinx in the current election.
In the current election, NSN Natraj, the former MLA for the Kangayam constituency, contested on behalf of the AIADMK. Minister MP Saminathan contested for the second consecutive term on behalf of DMK.
At the conclusion of the vote count, Natraj emerged victorious, securing 71,112 votes. TVK candidate Mani Gounder secured second place with 62,989 votes, while Saminathan took third place with 59,230 votes.
Natraj defeated Mani Gounder by a margin of 8,123 votes. At the same time, the vote margin between the DMK Minister and the AIADMK candidate is 11,882.
C Kalidas, Tiruppur East District President of Tamil Maanila Congress, said, "The hard work of the AIADMK alliance has yielded victory in the Kangayam and Dharapuram constituencies. Through this victory, the AIADMK candidate has broken the jinx of Kangayam."
