Kolathur sees high-stakes battle as MK Stalin faces AIADMK and TVK challengers. (Photo: ANI, X)
Dravidian soil is all set to witness the election results tomorrow. Kolathur Assembly constituency in Chennai has once again become a high-profile political battlefield in Tamil Nadu Elections 2026. With Chief Minister MK Stalin, contesting from the seat for the fourth consecutive time, he is fighting against AIADMK’s R Santhanakrishnan and TVK’s VS Babu. While Stalin has made Kolathur his political fortress with successive wins since 2011 the opposition is making this contest a matter of prestige. With the active door-to-door campaign, local development narratives, and debate on anti-incumbency adding to the party fortunes, the Kolathur poll battle is turning out to be a key harbinger of Tamil Nadu’s political wind direction.
Vote-counting in Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 will be held on May 4, 2026, tomorrow. The results are likely to seal not just the fate of the contestants but also the political fate of the southern state which is at central stage in criticising Modi Govt’s policies.
MK Stalin, who was born in 1953 is the president of DMK. He has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. Stalin is the son of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. MK Stalin has had a long time in Dravidian politics. He was even put in jail during 1975 Emergency time. He had become the Mayor of Chennai and then the Deputy Chief Minister, then to CM of Tamil Nadu.
MK Stalin has built a strong reputation as a good administrator and a leader who cares about the people. In the place called Kolathur people seem to like him. This is because MK Stalin has won elections and has started projects like Mudhalvar Padaippagam to help people.. The people who are against M. K. Stalin are trying to use the problems in the city and local issues to challenge him.
Stalin has done well in previous elections. He helped the DMK alliance win the election in 2021 for the state assembly with 159 seats. DMK also did well in the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu in 2019 and 2024 when Stalin was in charge.
In the place called Kolathur Stalin had won the seats in the years 2011, 2016 and 2021. He usually wins by a lot of votes so it is a safe place for DMK to hold a trust on people.
Stalin has said a lot of things about the AIADMK. He does not like that they are working with the BJP. Stalin thinks the AIADMK is not doing what is best for Tamil Nadu. He believes they are being told what to do by the government.
He talks about things like federal rights when he is campaigning. He also talks about the identity of Tamil Nadu, anti-Hindi agitations. Stalin wants to make sure Tamil Nadu is treated fairly. The AIADMK and their alliance with the BJP is something Stalin really disagrees with.
R. Santhanakrishnan is running for office from Kolathur as the AIADMK candidate. He has a background in estate and he used to be a councillor for the Chennai Corporation. This means R. Santhanakrishnan has a lot of experience with politics. R. Santhanakrishnan has said he has assets of ₹2.4 crore. He does not have any criminal cases against him.
Santhanakrishnan has been around in politics for a while now. He is not well known for winning big elections like Stalin is.. Santhanakrishnan has a lot of experience working with regular people at the grassroots level. This experience can be a plus when it comes to getting people to vote for Santhanakrishnan.
Santhanakrishnan is criticizing the DMK government on issues like how they are governing, corruption and promises they did not keep. He is trying to bring up problems that matter to people in Kolathur to weaken Stalin’s support from voters.
Kolathur is a major stronghold of DMK. Development is not a new aspect in this constituency. The government even started an office space called Mudhalvar Padaippagam where people can work together. This is something that Stalin talked about when he was saying he wants to make the city a better place. But now people are expecting more to happen so the election is going to be really tough for the DMK, in Kolathur.
Kolathur had a high voter turnout of 86.08% in the 2026 election. This shows that people in Kolathur really care about voting. The people in this area have always supported Stalin. In the 2021 election he got more than 60% of the votes and won by a big margin. Stalin is a leader in Kolathur.
The voters in Kolathur are very active. They make sure to cast their votes. Stalin’s support in Kolathur is strong.
M. K. Stalin is still the favorite to win because of what he has done in the past and how much people in Kolathur like him. R. Santhanakrishnan is trying to give him a tough time and there is another person named VS Babu who is also running under Vijay’s TVK Banner. This makes the election very interesting to watch. If MK Stalin wins again it will be important to see how votes he gets. This will help us understand what people in Tamil Nadu are thinking about politics. MK Stalin winning is one thing. The number of votes he gets will really show us what is going on in Tamil Nadu.
Sofia Babu Chacko is a journalist with over five years of experience reporting on Indian politics, crime, human rights, gender issues, and stories about marginalized communities. She believes journalism plays a crucial role in amplifying unheard voices and bringing attention to issues that truly matter. Sofia has contributed articles to The New Indian Express, Youth Ki Awaaz, and Maktoob Media. She is also a recipient of the 2025 Laadli Media Awards for gender sensitivity. Beyond the newsroom, she is a music enthusiast who enjoys singing. Connect with Sofia on X: https://x.com/SBCism
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