Kolathur Shock: How Stalin Lost His Stronghold

Just six months before the elections in Tamil Nadu, two reports from former Chief Minister M. K. Stalin’s constituency, Kolathur in northwestern Chennai, indicated trouble and suggested he could lose. The party chose to ignore these warnings. It believed it would win the constituency because he was the Chief Minister and had done considerable work there.

By the evening of 4 May 2026, it was clear that M. K. Stalin had lost Kolathur to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s V. S. Babu by 8,795 votes. Babu secured 82,997 votes, while Stalin polled 74,202. Babu was previously with the DMK and had served as an MLA from the now-defunct Purusawalkam constituency. Stalin had moved to Kolathur from Thousand Lights in 2011. Now, actor Vijay’s wave has unseated Stalin in Kolathur, a seat he had won for three consecutive terms.

What went wrong?

Congress’s North Chennai district vice president Gajendra Babu said the defeat was unexpected, but acknowledged there were issues in the constituency. “Drainage was a problem there. Nothing much was done about it. The office functionaries appointed by the party were arrogant. They were not accessible and believed everyone would vote for Stalin. None of his staff members did fieldwork. It was also entrusted to Minister P. K. Sekar Babu, who would feed incorrect reports to the CM. They also dismissed Vijay,” he said. Sekar Babu had joined the DMK from the AIADMK in 2011.

Former Egmore MLA I. Paranthamen highlighted the issue in a post on X, stating that the party leadership should take firm action, without mercy or leniency, against those who neglected the leader’s constituency even while campaigning across Tamil Nadu. He added that a genuine DMK worker would not find peace under such circumstances. Tagging P. K. Sekar Babu, he questioned whether this was what he had meant when he assured that he would take care of the constituency.

When contacted by Outlook, the former MLA described it as an internal party matter and declined to comment further, saying he had already expressed his views on X.

It was, Babu underscored, very difficult for people to reach the Chief Minister, and his team did not give importance to alliance partners either. “There was no team spirit.”

Babu went on to add that the Chief Minister had done considerable work. “It was an area that used to flood continuously, and that no longer happens. He has built several primary and middle schools. There are colleges too. But none of his team members highlighted the work Stalin has done. It is not enough to do the work; it must also be communicated to the people,” he said.

Tamil Nadu-based journalist Shabir Ahmed added that TVK successfully framed the election around hyper-local concerns. “Vijay raised issues such as law and order, women’s safety, drugs, roads, waterlogging, garbage, and drainage at every campaign meeting,” he said, noting that the DMK failed to take these concerns seriously.

According to Ahmed, the party assumed that Vijay would perform strongly in Chennai and other urban centres—which he ultimately did—but remained confident that the Chief Minister could withstand the challenge. Stalin had shifted to Kolathur from the Thousand Lights constituency in 2011, as it was then considered a more difficult seat. He had won the seat from the AIADMK with a margin of just 2,734 votes in 2011.

Perambur, which Vijay won, neighbours Kolathur. Ahmed noted that “DMK functionaries in the constituency refused to believe that there would be any spillover of support for Vijay into the Chief Minister’s constituency.” He explained that the demographic composition of Kolathur differs, with a significant population of Christian and Dalit voters, many of whom shifted their support to the TVK.

He also echoed a widely held view that Stalin relied heavily on P. K. Sekar Babu, a strong political figure in North Chennai. According to Ahmed, the Chief Minister appeared confident that nothing would go wrong as long as Sekar Babu was overseeing the constituency.

However, matters were not helped by Stalin’s limited presence during the campaign. When a campaign is centred on his image, Ahmed said, it is essential that he makes frequent appearances in his own constituency as well.