Kolathur Result 2026: TVK’s VS Babu defeats Stalin

Why Kolathur’s 2026 count drew statewide attention

Kolathur, a Chennai constituency long identified with DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, turned into one of the most closely watched seats on counting day. Vote counting for the 234-seat Tamil Nadu Assembly began on May 4, with Election Commission (EC) updates driving rapid shifts in early trends. Against that backdrop, Kolathur stood out because it has been described as Stalin’s stronghold for four decades and because he has held the seat since 2011.

Early data from the EC showed Stalin trailing in his own constituency during initial rounds, with TVK candidate V.S. Babu building a lead. The contest was framed as a prestige battle, with multiple reports highlighting the contrast between Kolathur’s constituency trend and the broader statewide picture that was still evolving through the day.

Counting day: early leads and widening margins

As counting progressed, the vote gap in Kolathur moved sharply across rounds, based on updates attributed to EC data. One early update said V.S. Babu led by 886 votes, with Babu at 4,130 votes and Stalin at 3,244. Later, as more rounds were completed, another update put Babu ahead by 4,011 votes, with Babu on 24,993 and Stalin on 20,982.

By mid-day, multiple trendlines pointed to TVK sustaining its advantage. A separate update said the Chief Minister was trailing by over 7,000 votes at 12.30 pm, with Babu ahead, according to data shared by the Election Commission. This steady widening of the margin kept attention on whether Kolathur would remain a DMK bastion or deliver a surprise.

Round 10 snapshot: TVK ahead on the posted tally

After Round 10, TVK’s V.S. Babu was reported to be leading by 7,975 votes in Kolathur. The same update provided the round-wise tally for the top three candidates.

This Round 10 picture also reflected the three-corner dynamic in the seat, with AIADMK in third position on the shared count.

Result call: reports say Babu won Kolathur

Later updates described the Kolathur result as declared, with TVK candidate V.S. Babu defeating M.K. Stalin by 7,975 votes, using the same tally of 41,616 for Babu and 33,641 for Stalin. Other reports, also citing EC website data after 22 rounds, described a larger vote total and a margin of more than 9,000 votes, stating that Babu received more than 82,000 votes while Stalin got around 73,000.

Taken together, the flow of updates consistently pointed to the same headline outcome: Stalin was unseated in Kolathur by TVK’s V.S. Babu, with the reported margin varying across published updates.

Who is V.S. Babu and why the win is politically notable

V.S. Babu was described as a former Member of the Legislative Assembly from Purasawalkam, elected in the 2006 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls as a DMK candidate. In Kolathur 2026, he contested on the ticket of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), a party that was also described as fighting its maiden elections.

That backdrop fuelled the “giant killer” framing in several live updates, especially because Kolathur has been repeatedly presented as a symbol of DMK dominance in Chennai since 2011.

Kolathur’s past record: a big shift from 2016 and 2021

Kolathur’s earlier outcomes were cited to underline how unusual the 2026 trend looked. In one detailed reference to the 2021 election, Stalin was reported to have won 1,05,522 votes (61.4%) and defeated AIADMK’s Aadi Rajaram by 70,384 votes, with turnout of 64.63% among 2,68,296 electors. Another reference said that in the 2021 Assembly election, the Chief Minister won by 48,919 votes, securing 66.5 percent of votes polled against AIADMK.

For 2016, Stalin was reported to have won 91,303 votes (55.4%) with a margin of 37,730 votes, with turnout of 64.26% among 2,61,913 voters. The broader historical listing included: 2021, 2016 and 2011 won by Stalin (DMK), while 2006 was won by Subramanian N (AIADMK).

Voter roll changes flagged in the seat

One update highlighted a sharp change in the electorate linked to SIR, stating that Kolathur’s electors reduced from 2,82,966 (before SIR) to 2,21,988 (after SIR), with voter deletion of 75,715. The same snapshot also listed “Victory margin: 6,504” and “Previous winner: DMK” as part of its key-seat summary.

Statewide picture: TVK’s seat lead during counting

Beyond Kolathur, one statewide update said TVK emerged as the single largest party with 107 seats, followed by AIADMK with 58, while DMK was at 48, as counting continued. Another trend update, published earlier in the day, said TVK was leading in 157 seats, AIADMK in 42, and DMK in 23.

Separately, a TVK spokesperson Felix Gerald said the party was confident of an absolute majority, arguing that the early trends matched expectations and portraying TVK as an alternative to established parties.

What this means for political stability and market watchers

Kolathur’s outcome matters because it signals a break in a constituency repeatedly characterised as a DMK bastion under Stalin. A high-profile defeat in the Chief Minister’s seat also changes the political narrative around urban support in Chennai, particularly when the seat was described as a test for possible urban anti-incumbency.

For investors and businesses tracking Tamil Nadu, the key near-term variable is clarity on government formation as final results settle across constituencies. While the article’s updates focus on seat leads and margins, market participants typically watch for confirmation of the final assembly arithmetic and any official statements on transition plans.

Other notable constituency trend mentioned

The same collection of live updates also referenced Udhayanidhi being ahead by a margin of over 3,000 votes against Selvam D. of TVK at one stage of counting. No additional constituency-wise details were provided in the text beyond that margin snapshot.

What to watch next

The Election Commission’s seat-wise results portal remains the primary reference point for final tallies. In the immediate term, attention will stay on confirmed final results across the 234 seats, formal government formation steps, and any official responses from parties to major upsets such as Kolathur.