MK Stalin toppled by TVK storm; Tamil Nadu CM suffers defeat in election

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has suffered an unexpected defeat in his stronghold, the Kolathur Assembly constituency. V S Babu of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) defeated Stalin in what is being seen as one of the biggest upsets of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

V S Babu, who was contesting his first election, defeated the DMK heavyweight by around 8000 votes. Babu secured about 82,000 votes, while Stalin, who had held the seat since 2011, managed around 72,000 votes. AIADMK's R Santhanakrishnan came third with about 14,000 votes. In 2021, Stalin had won the seat with a margin of 70,384 votes against AIADMK’s Aadi Rajaram.

Meanwhile, Vijay’s TVK is on course to form the government in its very first election. The party is leading in 108 seats. The DMK is ahead in 71 seats, while the AIADMK is leading in 53 seats. A total of 118 seats are required to form the government.