Chennai: The Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party in the latest Tamil Nadu Assembly election, signalling a major shift from the state’s long-running two-pole political pattern since 1967. However, the party fell short of forming a government on its own.
TVK secured 108 seats, missing the majority threshold of 118 by 10 seats. The key factor highlighted in the results was a cluster of razor-thin defeats across 17 constituencies, where the party’s candidates lost by small vote margins.
In six constituencies—Tirukoilur, Vikravandi, Kulithalai, Palani, Kovilpatti and Ooty—TVK candidates were defeated by fewer than 1,000 votes. Another six seats—Dindigul, Karur, Papanasam, Killiyur, Pudukkottai and Thirumayam—were lost by margins under 2,000 votes.
Five more constituencies—Tiruvannamalai, Yercaud, Vriddhachalam, Coimbatore South and Keezhvelur—slipped away within 2,500 votes. Had TVK converted these 17 close contests into wins, the party would have crossed the 118-seat mark and formed a majority government, the report noted.
