Kamal Ghorui
In Srivaikuntam, G Saravanan (TVK) won the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election by 1,186 votes against S Oorvashi Amirtharaj (INC), while SP Shanmuganathan contested from the AIADMK.Srivaikuntam is a competitive constituency in Thoothukkudi district and has seen representation from both the Dravidian parties and the Congress.Since the 1977 Assembly elections, the seat has alternated evenly between the two major parties, with the Congress (INC) and the AIADMK winning five times each, giving both parties a 50% share of victories in this period. In the 2021 Assembly elections, INC’s G. Urkavalan (alias Oommen Chandy) won with 73,356 votes, defeating AIADMK’s SP Shunmuganathan by 15,445 votes.In the 2016 Assembly elections, AIADMK’s SP Shunmuganathan won with 65,198 votes, defeating INC’s V. Rani Venkatesan by 3,531 votes. In the 2011 Assembly elections also, AIADMK’s SP Shunmuganathan won but by defeating INC’s MB Sudalaiyandi by 21,122 votes. 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.
