Chennai: DMK and AIADMK have recalibrated their approach in the 25 constituencies that had victory margins of less than 3,000 votes in 2021. AIADMK is standing in one more than the 17 seats it contested last time, leaving the rest to allies. DMK, on the other hand, is contesting two seats less than the 19 it contested in 2021.Both parties have ceded seats on two conditions: where their own record is weak or where allies pressed claims. AIADMK has given Vasudevanallur, where its strike rate is low, to BJP. DMDK secured Virudhachalam, where Vijayakant won in 2006, for Premallatha to contest. Her brother K L Sudeesh has camped there and promised partymen that if they win he would press DMK to allot 15% of seats to DMDK for the rural local body polls later in 2026. PMK is countering this narrative by projecting Premallatha as an outsider. But another Vanniyar candidate from S Ramadoss’ faction could split its votes.DMK and AIADMK have reclaimed seats they do not want to lose, and will face each other in 14 of the constituencies against 11 in 2021.Both camps are going all out. In T Nagar, where DMK recorded the narrowest win at 137 votes, it denied the seat to MLA J Karunanidhi, who then resigned from party posts. DMK then appointed more ward secretaries and in-charges to handle Ashok Nagar and Kamarajar Colony. These are areas where several booths did not vote for DMK last time. And, in Mettur, DMK fielded has Mithun Chakravarthy, a youth wing functionary for whom deputy CM Udhayanidhi is expected to campaign next week. In Modakkurichi, BJP has fielded Kirthika Sivakumar, daughter-in-law of sitting MLA C Saraswathi, well in advance, targeting more than 1 lakh women voters. The party has also deployed cadres from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to reach Telugu- and Kannada-speaking voters, who form about 15% of the electorate. Meanwhile, MDMK has returned to the seat after 25 years. In this list of sub-3,000-vote margins, Coimbatore South has turned into a high-stakes contest. In 2021, BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan defeated Kamal Haasan by 1,728 votes. For 2026, Senthil Balaji, who is from Karur, has camped in the region for six months, working not just this seat but about 10 seats and bringing in cadres from his home base. Vanathi, meanwhile, has shifted to Coimbatore North and AIADMK has fielded Amman Arjunan to take on Senthilbalaji in Coimbatore South.
