T.N. Assembly election: Thirumavalavan opts out of race, says decision taken to protect DMK-led front

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on Saturday announced that he will not contest the 2026 Assembly election from Kattumannarkoil, reversing his earlier decision, and said the move was a “change in strategy” to safeguard the DMK-led alliance.

Instead, the VCK has fielded Jothimani, son of noted anti-caste leader L. Elayaperumal, from Kattumannarkoil. Mr. Thirumavalavan said the decision was also intended to honour the legacy of the late Congress leader and continue the party’s commitment to social justice.

Addressing reporters, Mr. Thirumavalavan said he had initially decided to enter the Assembly driven by a long-standing desire and a sense that the upcoming election would be politically significant. However, he said recent discussions surrounding his decision had the potential to weaken the Secular Progressive Alliance.

“Because my intentions have been misrepresented and trivialised, I have decided not to proceed with my earlier decision,” he added.

Explaining his earlier decision to contest, Mr. Thirumavalavan recalled that he had narrowly lost the Kattumannarkoil seat in 2016 by 87 votes as part of the People’s Welfare Front. “If certain postal votes had been properly counted, I would have won,” he said, adding that a victory then might have kept him in Assembly politics. He noted that he returned to Parliament in 2019 and had briefly considered moving to the Assembly in 2021, though the idea did not fully materialise at the time. “That feeling remained within me,” he said.

The 2026 election was “not an ordinary one”, Mr. Thirumavalavan said, and alleged that right-wing forces were making “calculated moves” in Tamil Nadu, with efforts under way for over a year to weaken the secular alliance. He claimed that he and the VCK and himself had been targeted in attempts to isolate him politically.

Mr. Thirumavalavan dismissed speculation that his decision was driven by personal ambition, rejecting claims that he was seeking power, eyeing the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, or anticipating a hung Assembly.

He said his earlier decision to contest stemmed solely from a desire to enter the Assembly, and that he could still influence political outcomes without being a member. Mr. Thirumavalavan also rejected allegations that denial of tickets to some sitting MLAs was linked to their perceived proximity to the DMK. Candidate selection, he said, was guided by social justice considerations and the need to provide opportunities to new entrants amid intense competition for a limited number of seats.

The VCK president maintained that his decision to step back should not be seen as a retreat. “In politics, moving forward is a strategy, but stepping back is also a strategy,” he said.