CHENNAI: Just before the election campaign drew to a close, two DMK functionaries from Kolathur constituency said they were targeting not just a victory, but a huge victory with a margin of more than 75,000 votes. They reasoned that the chief minister M K Stalin’s constituency witnessed several development projects, including a new govt arts and science college, Periyar Nagar Govt Hospital, a dialysis and rehabilitation centre, an air-conditioned bus stop, better stormwater drains, among others.However, Stalin lost from Kolathur to TVK’s V S Babu by 8,795 votes. The actor Vijay’s wave unseated Stalin in Kolathur in 2026 which he had won three times since 2011.V S Babu was with DMK when Stalin won in 2011 and he played a crucial role in that victory. Stalin made this constituency his own after shifting from Thousand Lights constituency in 2011 by celebrating festivals like Pongal with his electorate. He was also seen frequenting Kolathur regularly. But why did Stalin lose Kolathur which was seen as a cakewalk for him?DMK’s Kolathur area secretary Nagarajan said the defeat was unexpected. He said all the party workers campaigned for the victory of the chief minister. The govt introduced several new projects, including coworking spaces, coaching centres for preparing civil services exams and implemented projects worth several hundred crores.
By Joy TheophilusBesides a wave in favour of Vijay, it seems the infighting and factions in DMK at the micro level in Kolathur constituency also affected the results. “The area secretaries did not concentrate on the booth level. A senior minister who is in charge of the Kolathur constituency created parallel power centres at the grassroots level. Party functionaries were not able to contact CM for their grievances. It created heartburn among the cadres,” a DMK functionary said.AIADMK’s North Chennai district minority wing secretary A Abbas said the overconfidence of DMK party men worked against them in Kolathur.“The problems of Kolathur has remained the same for the past 15 years –be it road issues or sewage mixing with drinking water or stagnation of rainwater. DMK govt did several photoshoots by launching fancy schemes in the constituency without addressing the basic issues. Stalin lost Kolathur due to the public anger against the DMK govt,” he said.A large part of Kolathur constituency was once part of Purasawalkam, which it won against the sympathy wave for MGR’s AIADMK throughout the state in 1984. It shows that even the traditional DMK support base switched their allegiance, which resulted in the defeat of the sitting CM.Kolathur constituency resultsV S Babu (TVK) – 82,997M K Stalin (DMK) – 74,202Victory margin — 8795
