Tamil Nadu polls 2026: Avinashi contest tightens as TVK disrupts AIADMK-BJP stronghold

Avinashi: BJP is likely to face an uphill task in the Avinashi (reserved) constituency in Tiruppur district. It has been an AIADMK bastion for nearly four decades and party workers said it was unexpected that the Dravidian major ceded one of its “walkover constituencies” to its alliance partner – BJP. The entry of TVK into the fray and DMK fielding a young doctor could throw a spanner in the works for the national party’s prospects.

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BJP has fielded Union minister L Murugan, a Rajya Sabha MP, who hails from Namakkal district. He contested from Dharapuram in neighbouring Erode district in the 2021 elections and lost to DMK’s Kayalvizhi Selvaraj. This time, party workers told ET that Murugan is banking on AIADMK support, but it will not be a cakewalk. Murugan will take on TVK’s S Kamali and DMK’s 28-year-old political greenhorn V Gokilamani, a doctor, in the upcoming polls.

“It was a bit of a shock to us that BJP was given Avinashi,” an AIADMK worker told ET. Voters ET spoke to in the constituency revealed that both Dravidian parties risk a split in votes due to TVK’s presence. This risk becomes more pronounced for AIADMK, which has historically enjoyed comfortable wins here.

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Vijay’s party is emerging as a key disruptor as he has captured the imagination of voters and could eat into a significant share of youth and Dalit votes that might otherwise have gone to the AIADMK-BJP combine. “I am voting for TVK,” said Manikandam M, 23, a network sales engineer.