Tamil Nadu has witnessed a political earthquake with Chief Minister MK Stalin losing the high-profile Kolathur seat to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate VS Babu, a result that scripted one of the most dramatic upsets in the state’s electoral history.
The 75-year-old veteran defeated the DMK leader by 9,192 votes in Kolathur, a seat that had, for over a decade, stood as a symbol of Stalin’s political authority. The result has ripped through the narrative of invincibility built around the constituency.
Kolathur was not just another seat. It was Stalin’s ground zero. Since its creation after delimitation ahead of the 2011 election, it had remained firmly in his grip.
He first edged through with a narrow win of 2,734 votes in 2011. What followed were emphatic victories, margins swelling to 37,730 in 2016 and an imposing 70,384 in 2021. Each election tightened his hold, turning Kolathur into a political fortress.
That fortress has now fallen.
THE GIANT-KILLER
VS Babu’s victory carries the weight of experience and timing. A seasoned politician with more than two decades in public life, he is no stranger to electoral battles.
He began with the DMK and rose through its ranks, serving as north Chennai district secretary before winning the 2006 election from Purasawalkam by over 90,000 votes. But his journey has been anything but linear.
After falling out within the DMK, Babu briefly aligned with the AIADMK under Edappadi K Palaniswami. His move to Vijay’s TVK on February 7, 2026, now looks like a turning point that changed the course of this election.
According to his 2026 affidavit, Babu has declared assets worth 3.7 crore. More than that, he now carries the tag of a giant-killer, the man who brought down one of Tamil Nadu’s most powerful leaders.
Babu framed his victory as part of a wider shift in the state’s politics, reflecting a mood that is rapidly evolving.
A WAVE BEYOND ONE SEAT
The shock in Kolathur is not an isolated story. It mirrors a broader surge for TVK across Tamil Nadu.
Early trends show the party leading in 108 seats, putting it ahead of the DMK at 72 and the AIADMK at 55. Vijay himself is maintaining comfortable leads in Perambur and Trichy, reinforcing the party’s growing momentum.
The tremors are being felt across the DMK camp. Several prominent leaders are trailing or have lost, including Geeta Jeevan, who was defeated by TVK’s Sriram in Thoothukudi.
POWER HANGS IN BALANCE
With the majority mark at 118 in the Assembly, TVK is still short of a clear mandate, setting the stage for intense political negotiations.
But beyond the arithmetic, Kolathur has delivered a message that is impossible to ignore. A seat once seen as untouchable has changed hands. A veteran has risen at the right moment. And a chief minister has been unseated in his own bastion.
In Tamil Nadu, the ground has shifted, and the aftershocks are only beginning.
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