Dr.Kalai Kathiravan of DMK won the Tenkasi Assembly constituency (Tirunelveli district, Deep South) in the Tamil Nadu 2026 election, taking 33.92% of 234,987 votes cast. The winning margin over S.Selva Mohandas Pandian (ADMK) was 10,299 votes, or 4.38 percentage points. The seat flipped from INC to DMK since 2021.
DMK
Winning party
33.92%
Winner vote share
10,299
Margin (4.38%)
INC → DMK
2021 → 2026 winner
Full candidate results, Tenkasi 2026
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr.Kalai Kathiravan Winner | DMK | 79,699 | 33.92% |
| 2 | S.Selva Mohandas Pandian 2nd | ADMK | 69,400 | 29.53% |
| 3 | A. Rajaprakash | TVK | 55,543 | 23.64% |
| 4 | P. Pushpalatha | NTK | 16,394 | 6.98% |
| 5 | M.Poosa Durai | All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam | 7,715 | 3.28% |
| 6 | S.Thirumalai Kumar | Puthiya Tamilagam | 1,365 | 0.58% |
| 7 | Nota | NOTA | 673 | 0.29% |
| 8 | G. Poorana Selvan | IND | 548 | 0.23% |
| 9 | Isaki Pandian | Bahujan Samaj Party | 518 | 0.22% |
| 10 | S. Thangapalam | IND | 432 | 0.18% |
| 11 | Durairaj | IND | 424 | 0.18% |
| 12 | M. Ponnudurai | IND | 311 | 0.13% |
| 13 | Shahul Hameed | IND | 295 | 0.13% |
| 14 | S.Manogaran | Kamarajar Deseeya Congress | 244 | 0.1% |
| 15 | P.Noble Krishna | IND | 239 | 0.1% |
| 16 | Gomathi Sankar | Tamizhaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi | 234 | 0.1% |
| 17 | R. Ramkumar | IND | 224 | 0.1% |
| 18 | R.Krishnan | IND | 204 | 0.09% |
| 19 | K.M.Kaliappan | IND | 130 | 0.06% |
| 20 | K.Muthu | IND | 114 | 0.05% |
| 21 | A.Mariappan | IND | 111 | 0.05% |
| 22 | Ganeshan. S | IND | 90 | 0.04% |
| 23 | R. Selvakumar | Naam Indiar Party | 80 | 0.03% |
How Tenkasi compares to 2021
| Year | Winning candidate | Party | Vote share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | PALANI NADAR.S | INC | 41.71% |
| 2026 | DR.KALAI KATHIRAVAN | DMK | 33.92% |
The seat changed hands, a swing of -7.79 percentage points in the winning vote share.
This page is part of the full Tamil Nadu 2026 election results set. Explore every seat, party efficiency, regional swing and demographics in the TN 2026 Explorer. For the wider story, see TVK’s debut mapped, the incumbents who lost, and how DMK collapsed.