Kolathur Shocker: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin loses to TVK's VS Babu

Stalin election result 2026: DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin loses to TVK's VS Babu from Kolathur. The 73-year-old leader has won from Kolathur three times.

Babu of the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won from Stalin's bastion with a margin of more than 8,795 votes, according to the Election Commission of India trends

About Kolathur

Chennai has some of the oldest constituencies in the state, dating back to 1952, though many were redrawn after the 2011 delimitation exercise. In the 2026 elections, four constituencies—Kolathur, Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, Mylapore, and Perambur—are drawing particular attention.

Located in the Chennai district and part of the Chennai North Lok Sabha constituency, Kolathur (constituency number 13) carries symbolic significance as a reflection of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s political strength and governance.

Created after delimitation in 2008, it has been represented solely by Stalin since 2011. The area is also known for its prominent ornamental fish market, where over 10 lakh ornamental fish are sold daily, earning it the nickname “fish bowl of Chennai.”

MK Stalin Net Worth

Stalin declared a family net worth of about ₹9 crore. While Stalin has movable assets worth ₹3.3 crore, his spouse has movable assets worth ₹1.3 crore.

The DMK chief said he has immovable assets worth ₹2.9 crore, and his spouse owns about ₹2 crore. Overall, the couple's net worth is about 9 crore.

Compared with his wife's movable assets, they showed no notable growth. In 2021, her movable assets stood at ₹30.52 lakh, including ₹24.77 lakh in old gold jewellery. By 2026, her movable assets rose to over ₹1.32 crore.

Five years ago, in the run-up to the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly polls, Stalin had declared a joint net worth of about ₹7 Crore. This included movable assets of a little over ₹4.94 crore. His immovable assets, including land and residential buildings, were valued at ₹2.24 crore in 2021.

Earlier, he contested from the Thousand Lights constituency between 1984 and 2006, where he was elected six times.

About VS Babu

V S Babu has formerly been with the AIADMK and is presently the joint general secretary of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, launched by actor-politician Vijay.

Babu said, "Kolathur may be a star constituency, but nothing has been done for this constituency. Unemployment is the major issue here."

15 DMK ministers lose

• Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin
• DMK general secretary Duraimurugan
• Thangam Thennarasu
• TRB Rajaa
• Ma Subramanian
• PK Sekar Babu
• EV Velu
• KN Nehru
• Getha Jeevan
• KKSSR Ramachandran

TVK leads

According to EC trends, actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is leading in 88 seats, ahead of the ruling DMK+ and the opposition AIADMK-led alliance. BJP is contesting 27 seats in alliance with the AIADMK.

As things stand, while TVK was leading on 88 seats, the AIADMK was ahead on 56 seats.

Vijay was leading in Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur in Chennai and Aadhav Arjuna, considered No 2 in the TVK is leading in Villivakkam.

BJP bigwigs trail

BJP's prominent candidates, including state chief Nainar Nagenthran, former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Union Minister L Murugan, are trailing behind the DMK and Vijay-led TVK candidates, respectively, in Tamil Nadu on Monday.

Nagenthran, who is contesting from Sattur for the first time after migrating from his home constituency of Tirunelveli, is trailing by 909 votes behind the DMK candidate Kadarkarairaj A.

Union Minister L Murugan is trailing behind TVK's Kamali S in Avanashi reserved constituency by 2,080 votes as per the counting trends, while former Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan is behind TVK's Venkataramanan P by a margin of 9,296 votes in Mylapore constituency in Chennai.

The blend of cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has a rich history of blending cinema and politics. At least two of its most iconic Chief Ministers were highly successful actors before entering governance.

MG Ramachandran or MGR (1977–1987) was one of the most celebrated superstars of Tamil cinema, known for his on-screen persona as a “messiah of the poor” before becoming the Chief Minister. J Jayalalithaa, who had several stints as chief minister, was also a legendary actress who acted in numerous blockbuster films, often opposite MGR, before becoming a politician.

Last week, pollster Pradeep Gupta, chairperson of Axis My India, even likened Vijay's rise to that of former chief ministers MG Ramachandran (MGR) in Tamil Nadu and NT Ram Rao in Andhra Pradesh.

What do the exit polls say?

Tamil Nadu has thrown up its most unpredictable contest in years, with actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) entering its debut election contesting all 234 seats independently, without aligning with either the DMK or AIADMK-led alliance.

Most exit polls project that the DMK-led alliance under Chief Minister M K Stalin will retain power. A 9-3 prediction split broadly favours the ruling alliance.

However, Axis My India has emerged as a significant outlier, projecting TVK as the single-largest party with between 98 and 120 seats, the DMK-led alliance at 92 to 100 seats, and the five-party BJP-led alliance at 22 to 32 seats. Axis My India also placed Vijay ahead of Stalin as voters' preferred choice for the next chief minister, with 37% support compared to Stalin's 35%.