Telugu-origin voters to play decisive role in Tamil Nadu elections

TIRUPATI: Voters of Telugu origin are set to play a key role in the outcome of assembly elections in Tamil Nadu election, which have emerged as a nail-biting triangular contest between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), AIADMK, and actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party.

Elections in the southern state will be held on April 23.As per the 2011 census, Telugu community accounts for 33.4% of the total population in Tamil Nadu. Barring the Nagercoil-Tootukudy belt, one out of every three voters belongs to the Telugu community across Tamil Nadu. According to some estimates, there are around 1.4 crore Telugu voters out of 5.6 crore total voters in Tamil Nadu.

After coming to power with a strong mandate in 2021, the DMK alliance headed by chief minister MK Stalin is facing an anti-incumbency challenge. The ruling party has formed an alliance with Congress, Maralarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and Communist parties forthe elections. The opposition NDA alliance, comprising of AIADMK, BJP, and PMK, are putting up a strong challenge. Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK has emergedas a third force in the 2026 elections.Given the fact that Telugu community could play a decisive role in the electoral battle, DMK, which is contesting from 164 out of the 234 assembly constituencies, has fielded nearly 17 candidates of Telugu origin in the poll fray.

AIADMK, which is contesting from 169 assembly constituencies (65 constituencies allocated to alliance partners), has fielded nearly 22 candidates of Telugu origin.DMK, which has a strong presence in the assemblyconstituencies in Tiruvannamalai-Vellore and the coastal belts, has entrusted the responsibility of swaying Telugu voters to three leaders. Public works and highways minister EV Velu, who has a Telugu background, has been entrusted with the responsibility in the Tiruvannamalai-Vellore belt, while a similar responsibility has been given to municipal administration minister KN Nehru for Trichy and the delta region constituencies, including Nagapattinam and Chidambaram.

Endowmentsminister Sekar Babu, a close confidante of Stalin, has been given the responsibility of cementing DMK’s winning chances in the constituencies in Chennai.AIADMK, which has a stronghold in Coimbatore, Salem, Tirupur, Avinashi and Karur regions of the state, has fielded 22 candidates of Telugu origin, given the sizeable Telugu population in these parts of the state. Despite a strong DMK wave, AIADMK won 10 assembly seats in the Coimbatore-Salem belt in the 2021 elections.