DMK Minister Loses by 1 Vote to TVK Candidate in Dramatic TN Upset

In a razor-thin finish in the Tiruppattur Assembly constituency, one vote ended Periyakaruppan’s 20-year dominance in the region, marking one of the closest contests in Indian electoral history.

At the end of the penultimate round of counting on Monday, Periyakaruppan was leading by 30 votes. However, the final round saw a dramatic reversal, with his rival Seenivasa Sethupathy of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) declared the winner.

Sethupathy secured 83,365 votes, narrowly defeating Periyakaruppan, who polled 83,364 votes.

This marks the first time since 2006 that Periyakaruppan has lost from the Tiruppattur constituency. BJP candidate KC Thirumaran finished a distant third with 29,054 votes.

Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK made a remarkable debut, winning 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, just 10 short of the majority mark of 118.

The party is expected to seek support from smaller parties, including Congress (5 seats), PMK (4), Left parties (4), and VCK (2), to form the government.

AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, said a report has been submitted to the Congress leadership, which will take a decision on its next move.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram congratulated Vijay and the TVK, calling it a “spectacular electoral debut.”

“People have voted for change in Tamil Nadu. The mandate is with them now to form a working majority and provide good governance,” he said.

The results have also challenged long-standing perceptions about actors in politics, as Vijay joins the ranks of leaders like NT Rama Rao, MG Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa.

TVK’s performance signals a major political shift, with Tamil Nadu potentially seeing its first government outside the DMK-AIADMK dominance since 1977.