Tamil Nadu Assembly elections 2026: Full list of DMK candidates

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday (March 28, 2026) announced its list of 164 candidates who will be contesting the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin will once again contest from Kolathur and Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituencies in Chennai, respectively.

Mr. Stalin has represented Kolathur since the constituency was created after delimitation. He won the seat in the Assembly elections of 2011, 2016 and 2021, and will now be contesting from the seat for the fourth time.

Dispelling rumours that senior Minister and DMK general secretary Duraimurugan would not contest this time, Chief Minister Stalin announced that Duraimurugan would once again contest from Katpadi. First elected to the Assembly in 1971, he has since won ten elections and will be entering the fray for the 13^th time this election.

A few sitting Ministers, including Textiles and Handlooms Minister R. Gandhi, Dairy Development Minister Mano Thangaraj and Human Resources Management Minister Kayalvizhi Selvaraj, have been denied tickets. Former Environment and Forest Minister K. Ramachandran has opted out of the race owing to health reasons. In Kanniyakumari district, former Minister N. Suresh Rajan has also been dropped.

Former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam has been announced as the candidate from Bodinayakanur. Former Minister V. Senthilbalaji has been shifted from Karur district to Coimbatore South. The Coimbatore South seat was won by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vanathi Srinivasan in the 2021 election. In Egmore, the party has fielded Tamilan Prasanna, a familiar face defending the DMK on television news debates.

Kin of Ministers in fray

Former Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy, who had resigned from the DMK Ministry, has been dropped. His son, Gautham Sigamani, has been nominated from the Tirukovilur constituency, which Mr. Ponmudy won in 2021.

Vinoth Gandhi, son of Textiles and Handlooms Minister R. Gandhi, has been named as the DMK candidate from Ranipet. However, the Minister has not been allotted a constituency.

The DMK has also nominated A. Subair Khan, an orthopaedic surgeon and son of late former Union Minister A. Rahman Khan, from Royapuram constituency. In Tirumangalam in Madurai district, the party has fielded Sedappati Manimaran, son of former Assembly Speaker Sedapatti Muthiah, who had many years ago defected from the AIADMK.

In Andipatti, DMK candidate A. Maharajan is contesting for the third consecutive term and will face his brother A. Logirajan. Mr. Maharajan won the seat in the previous two elections. The party has named N. Chitrarasu as its candidate from Anna Nagar.

In Villivakkam, the DMK has fielded Karthik Mohan, son of M.K. Mohan, the party’s MLA from Anna Nagar. He is to face Aadhav Arjuna of actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Mr. Arjuna was earlier associated with the DMK and had worked closely with Udhayanidhi Stalin as a political strategist before entering electoral politics. The Villivakkam seat was won in 2021 election by A. Vetriazhagan, grandson of former DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan.

Here is an overview of the list of DMK candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election 2026.

1. Alandur: T.M. Anbarasan

2. Alangudi: Siva V. Meyyanathan

3. Alangulam: Paul Manoj Pandian

4. Ambattur: Dr. A.P. Poornima

5. Ambur: A.C. Vilvanathan

6. Anaikattu: A.P. Nandakumar

7. Andipatti: A. Maharajan

8. Anna Nagar: N. Chitrarasu

9. Anthiyur: M. Sivabalan

10. Arani: Mahalakshmi Govarthanan

11. Aravakurichi: Monjanour R. Elango

12. Arcot: J.L. Eswarappan

13. Ariyalur: Latha Balu

14. Aruppukkottai: K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran

15. Athoor: I. Periyasamy

16. Avadi: S.M. Nasar

17. Avanashi (SC): V. Kokila Mani

18. Bargur: D. Mathiyalagan

19. Bhavani: K.A. Chandrasekar

20. Bhuvanagiri: Durai K. Saravanan

21. Bodinayakkanur: O. Panneerselvam

22. Chengalpattu: M.K.D. Karthik Dhandapani

23. Chengam: M.P. Giri

24. Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni: Udhayanidhi Stalin

25. Cheyyar: O. Jothi

26. Coimbatore North: D. Senthamizh Selvan

27. Coimbatore South: V. Senthilbalaji

28. Coonoor: K.M. Raju

29. Cumbum: N. Ramakrishnan

30. Dharapuram (SC): T. Indirani

31. Dindigul: I.P. Senthilkumar

32. Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar: J. John Ebenezer

33. Edappadi: C. Kasi

34. Egmore (SC): S. Prasanna

35. Erode West: S. Muthusamy

36. Gangavalli (SC): K. Chinnadurai

37. Gingee: K.S. Masthan

38. Gobichettipalayam: N. Nallasivam

39. Gudalur (SC): M. Thiravidamani

40. Gummidipoondi: T.J. Govindarajan

41. Harbour: P.K. Sekarbabu

42. Harur: A. Shanmugam

43. Jayankondam: K.S.K. Kannan

44. Jolarpettai: Kavitha Dhandapani

45. Kalasapakkam: P.S.T. Saravanan

46. Kancheepuram: S. Nithya

47. Kangayam: M.P. Saminathan

48. Kanniyakumari: R. Mahesh

49. Karur: Aasi M. Thiagarajan

50. Katpadi: Duraimurugan

51. Kilpennathur: K. Pichandi

52. Kilvaithinankuppam (SC): Dr. Rajeswari Mohangandhi

53. Kinathukadavu: S. Sabari Karthikeyan

54. Kolathur: M.K. Stalin

55. Kovilpatti: K. Karunanidhi

56. Krishnarayapuram (SC): C.K. Raja

57. Kulithalai: Suriyanur A. Chandran

58. Kumarapalayam: S. Balu

59. Kumbakonam: G. Anbalagan

60. Kunnam: S.S. Sivasankar

61. Kurinjipadi: M.R.K. Panneerselvam

62. Lalgudi: T. Parivallal Thangavel

63. Madathukulam: R. Jayaramakrishnan

64. Madhavaram: S. Sudharsanam

65. Madurai Central: Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

66. Madurai East: P. Moorthy

67. Madurai North: G. Thalapathi

68. Madurai West: R. Balaji

69. Madurantakam (SC): S. Ponmalar

70. Maduravoyal: Karambakkam K. Ganapathy

71. Manamadurai (SC): A. Tamilarasi

72. Mannachanallur: S. Kathiravan

73. Mannargudi: T.R.B. Rajaa

74. Mettupalayam: K. Kavitha Sundaram

75. Mettur: M. Midhun Chakaravarthy

76. Mudukulathur: R.S. Rajakannappan

77. Musiri: N.S. Karunairaaja

78. Mylapore: Dha. Velu

79. Nagercoil: S. Austin

80. Namakkal: P. Rani

81. Neyveli: Saba. Rajendran

82. Nilakottai (SC): S. Nagajothi

83. Orathanadu: R. Vaithilingam

84. Ottanchatram: R. Sakkarapani

85. Ottapidaram (SC): P.M. Ramajeyam

86. Palacode: Dr. D.N.V. Senthilkumar

87. Palayamkottai: M. Abdul Wahab

88. Palladam: K. Selvraj

89. Pappireddippatti: P. Palaniappan

90. Paramakudi (SC): K.K. Kathiravan

91. Paramathi Velur: K.S. Moorthy

92. Pattukkottai: K. Annadurai

93. Hosur: S.A. Sathya

94. Perambalur (SC): S.T. Jayalakshmi

95. Perambur: R.D. Shekar

96. Peravurani: N. Asokkumar

97. Perundurai: Thoppu N.D. Venkatachalam

98. Poompuhar: Nivedha M. Murugan

99. Poonamallee (SC): A. Krishnaswamy

100. Pudukkottai: V. Muthuraja

101. Radhapuram: M. Appavu

102. Rajapalayam: S. Thangapandian

103. Ramanathapuram: Katharbatsha (a) Muthuramalingam

104. Ranipet: Vinoth Gandhi

105. Rasipuram (SC): M. Mathiventhan

106. Rishivandiyam: K. Karthikeyan

107. Royapuram: Dr. A. Subairkhan

108. Saidapet: Ma. Subramanian

109. Salem North: R. Rajendran

110. Salem South: M. Loganathan

111. Sankarapuram: T. Udhayasuriyan

112. Sankari: M. Manikandan

113. Sattur: A. Kadarkarai Raj

114. Senthamangalam (ST): P. Poomalar

115. Sholavandan (SC): A. Venkatesan

116. Sholinganallur: S. Aravind Ramesh

117. Srirangam: S. Durairaj

118. Sulur: Thalapathi Murugeshan

119. T. Nagar: Raja Anbalagan

120. Tambaram: Dr. R.S. Kiruthika Devi

121. Tenkasi: Kalai Kathiravan

122. Thanjavur: Shan. Ramanathan

123. Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar (SC): K.S. Ravichandran

124. Thiruchuli: Thangam Thennarasu

125. Thirumayam: S. Regupathy

126. Thirupparankundram: Kiruthiga Thangapandi

127. Thiruvaiyaru: Durai. Chandrasekaran

128. Thiruvarur: Poondi K. Kalaivanan

129. Thiruvidaimarudur: Govi. Chezhiaan

130. Thondamuthur: N.R. Karthikeyan

131. Thoothukudi: P. Geetha Jeevan

132. Thousand Lights: Dr. Ezhilan Naganathan

133. Tiruchendur: Anitha R. Radhakrishnan

134. Tirukkoyilur: Pon. Gawtham Sigamani

135. Tirumangalam: Sedapatti M. Manimaran

136. Tirunelveli: S. Subramanian

137. Tirupattur: A. Nallathambi

138. Tiruppattur: K.R. Periakaruppan

139. Tiruppur South: N. Dinesh Kumar

140. Tiruvallur: V.G. Rajendran

141. Tiruvannamalai: E.V. Velu

142. Thiruverumbur: Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi

143. Tittakudi (SC): C.V. Ganesan

144. Tiruchi East – Dr. S. Inigo Irudayaraj

145. Tiruchi West – K.N. Nehru

146. Udumalaipettai: M. Jayakumar

147. Ulundurpettai: G.R. Vasanthavel

148. Uthiramerur: K. Sundar

149. Valparai (SC): A. Sudhakar

150. Vandavasi (SC): S. Ambeth Kumar

151. Vanur (SC): D. Gowtham

152. Vasudevanallur: E. Raja

153. Vedaranyam: M. Pugazhenthi

154. Vedasandur: D. Swaminathan

155. Veerapandi: Dr. A.K. Tarun

156. Vellore: P. Karthikeyan

157. Veppanahalli: P.S. Srinivasan

158. Vikravandi: Anniyur Siva (a) A. Siva Sanmugam

159. Vilathikulam: G.V. Markandayan

160. Villivakkam: Karthik Mohan

161. Villupuram: R. Lakshmanan

162. Viralimalai: K.K. Chella Pandiyan

163. Virugampakkam: A.M.V. Prabhakara Raja

164. Yercaud (ST): T.M. Revathi Matheswaran