Kamal Ghorui
Virudhunagar, the district headquarters, has in recent years emerged as a stronghold for the DMK. In the 2021 Assembly elections, DMK’s A. R. R. Seenivasan won with 73,297 votes, defeating BJP’s G. Pandurangan by a margin of 21,339 votes. In the 2016 Assembly elections, A. R. R. Seenivasan of the DMK won with 65,499 votes, defeating AIADMK’s K. Kalanithi by a narrow margin of 2,870 votes. In the 2011 Assembly elections, DMDK’s K. Pandiarajan, contesting as part of the AIADMK alliance, won with 70,441 votes, defeating INC’s T. Armstrong Naveen by 21,438 votes. Historically, since the 1977 elections, the DMK has won the seat three times, while the AIADMK has secured two victories. The 234-seat Assembly election in Tamil Nadu will see the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by Chief Minister M K Stalin, take on the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and a resurgent BJP-led alliance. The campaign is centred around issues such as welfare schemes, law and order, and the broader debate between Dravidian political identity and national integration narratives. While the DMK government is highlighting its record on industrial growth and social justice, the opposition has targeted it over allegations of corruption and concerns about power shortages.
