Tamil Nadu polls in numbers: DMK keeps faith in MLAs, AIADMK leans on those who fell short in 2021

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The AIADMK-led alliance won the remaining 75 seats. Written by: Anjishnu Das5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 22, 2026 06:54 AM IST Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. (PTI) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT As the ruling DMK-led and Opposition AIADMK-led alliances face off in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, they are largely relying on sitting MLAs to see them through, though the AIADMK appears more reliant than the DMK on candidates who lost in the 2021 polls. An analysis of the two alliances’ candidates shows that around two-thirds of their sitting MLAs have been renominated and the remaining third have been dropped. However, while the DMK has opted for fresh faces in seats its alliance had lost in 2021, the AIADMK and its allies have dropped a far smaller share of candidates who lost five years ago. In 2021, the DMK-led alliance won 159 seats, well clear of the 118-seat majority mark in the 234-member Assembly. The AIADMK-led alliance had won the remaining 75 seats. In the 2021 polls, the DMK had led its alliance, contesting 188 seats and winning 133. While many of its smaller allies had contested on DMK tickets, among its other allies, the Congress had contested 25 seats and won 18, the VCK contested 6 and won 4, and the Left’s CPI(M) and CPI had contested 12 and won 4. The IUML, though, failed to win any of the 3 seats it contested. This time, with the introduction of the DMDK, founded by late actor-politician Vijayakanth and now led by his wife Premalatha, the DMK is contesting fewer seats to accommodate its allies. While the DMDK has been allotted 10 seats, the Congress and VCK are contesting more seats at 28 and 8, respectively. The DMK has dropped down to 176, the Left parties to 10, and the IUML to 2. Across the alliance, 100 candidates have been renominated, including 98 sitting MLAs and 12 candidates who lost five years ago. Among the sitting MLAs who have been fielded again are 5 who have been shifted to new seats this year. Among the total 98 sitting MLAs who have been renominated, 30 had secured more than 50% of the vote share in 2021, and 55 between 40% and 50%. These 98 MLAs had won their seats in the 2021 polls by an average margin of 28,590 votes. All 12 of the losing candidates, including 5 who have been shifted to new seats this time, who have been fielded again had placed second in their seats in 2021, losing by an average margin of 16,666 votes. However, the DMK-led alliance has dropped 124 candidates from 2021, including 61 sitting MLAs and 63 candidates who lost five years ago. Though 18 of these sitting MLAs had secured vote shares above 50%, and 40 of them between 40% and 50%, their average winning margin of 16,629 is significantly lower than that of the retained sitting MLAs. The 63 losing candidates who have been dropped this time had lost in 2021 by an average margin of 18,294 votes, slightly higher than the average margin of the 12 losing candidates who were retained. Most of the DMK alliance’s fresh candidates are concentrated in the western Kongu Nadu region, where the AIADMK has been traditionally dominant. In particular, the Coimbatore, Salem and Erode districts have seen the introduction of the most new candidates. A significant chunk of the candidate changes has also come in the southern Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli districts, where the BJP’s presence has been growing in recent years. Singed by its losses in the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK-led alliance has made significant changes to its candidates, including the induction of T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK. In 2021, contesting 191 seats, the AIADMK had won nearly all of the alliance’s seats at 66. The BJP had won 4 of the 20 seats it contested, while the PMK had won 5 of the 23 seats it contested. This time, to accommodate the AMMK in 11 seats, the AIADMK is contesting 172 seats. The BJP’s allocation has increased to 33, while the PMK – now divided into two factions led by Anbumani Ramadoss (aligned with the AIADMK) and his father S Ramadoss (fighting independently) – is contesting 18 seats. The AIADMK has effected a major reshuffle of seats within the alliance, contesting 21 seats that the BJP and PMK had lost in 2021. However, the AIADMK has allotted 37 seats that it had lost in 2021 to its allies this time. A total of 65 seats, including 8 it had won in 2021, have been reallocated within the alliance, compared to 42 such reallocations in the DMK-led alliance. Altogether, the alliance has renominated 85 candidates, including 49 sitting MLAs and 55 runners-up from 2021. These repeated candidates include 5 sitting MLAs and 14 second-place finishers who have been shifted to new seats this time. Among the 49 sitting MLAs who have been nominated again, just 8 had secured more than 50% of the vote share, an indication of the alliance’s diminished strength, while another 39 had secured between 40% and 50%. These repeat candidates had won in 2021 by an average margin of 17,113 votes. The 55 runners-up from 2021 who have been fielded again had lost by an average margin of 20,491 votes. The alliance has, however, dropped 130 candidates from 2021, including 26 sitting MLAs and 104 losing candidates. Among the 26 dropped sitting MLAs are 6 who had secured vote shares above 50% and 17 between 40% and 50%. These dropped sitting MLAs had won in 2021 by an average margin of 19,770 votes, marginally higher than the average margin of the retained MLAs. All 104 losing candidates had finished in second place in 2021, losing by an average margin of 27,617 votes. Most of the AIADMK alliance’s new candidates have been fielded in Tamil Nadu’s northern and southern districts, where the DMK was dominant in the 2026 polls.