MLA · 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly (2026–31)Former MLA · 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly (2026–31)

S. Kamaraj
  • Won 2026 by 1,566

S. Kamaraj

எஸ். காமராஜ்

MLA for Mannargudi since May 2026MLA for Mannargudi, 2026–31AMMK

  • AC 167 · Thiruvarur district
  • Sitting MLA · 17th Assembly (2026–31)
  • Age 59 at the 2026 election
declared assets
₹21.39 cr
pending criminal cases
1
education
Postgraduate
times elected MLA
1

Assets, cases and education as declared in the 2026 sworn affidavit to the Election Commission of India. The cases are pending, not convictions. Age: from the Election Commission's candidate profile.

How did my village vote?Mannargudi seat page

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Career

S. Kamaraj: the career, year by year

First elected to the Assembly in 2026

  • Assembly win
  • Office held
  • Chief Minister
  1. 1989

    Completes M.Com. at Thiruvika Government College, Thiruvarur (Bharathidasan University).

  2. 1990

    Completes B.Ed. at Annamalai University, Chidambaram.

  3. Pre-2016

    Builds a base in Mannargudi as an educator and businessman (industry and agriculture); enters politics through the AIADMK.

  4. 2016

    Contests Mannargudi on the AIADMK ticket in the 2016 Assembly election; loses to DMK's T. R. B. Rajaa by 9,937 votes.

  5. 2021

    Contests Mannargudi on the AMMK ticket; finishes third behind DMK winner T. R. B. Rajaa and AIADMK's Siva Rajamanickam.

  6. 4 May 2026

    Won Mannargudi for the AMMK (polling was on 23 April).

    See the full 2026 result
  7. 8–9 May 2026

    'Forged support letter' dispute — TVK submits a copy of a letter to Governor R. V. Arlekar claiming Kamaraj's support for Vijay's government-formation bid. AMMK chief T. T. V. Dhinakaran alleges in a press statement and police complaint at Guindy that the letter is forged and that the accompanying video is AI-generated, demanding production of the original. TVK denies the charge and releases a video purportedly showing Kamaraj signing the letter voluntarily.

  8. 9 May 2026

    Tamil Nadu DGP launches a preliminary inquiry into the AMMK complaint; the Saturday swearing-in ceremony scheduled for 9 May is postponed by Raj Bhavan citing the criminal investigation. Vijay's oath is rescheduled for 10 May.

  9. 10 May 2026

    AMMK is not counted in TVK's 120-MLA government-formation tally; Vijay is sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu without AMMK's formal endorsement of Kamaraj's letter.

  10. 11 May 2026

    Took oath as MLA in the first session of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

Profile

About S. Kamaraj

He is the only AMMK candidate elected in the 2026 cycle, making him the sole AMMK MLA in the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He had earlier contested Mannargudi for AIADMK in 2016 and AMMK in 2021, losing both times. Days after the 2026 result, his support became the centre of a government-formation dispute between AMMK chief T. T. V. Dhinakaran and Vijay's TVK — the subject of a Guindy police complaint and a postponed swearing-in.

Party
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam
Born
1966 or 1967; enrolled voter in Mannargudi (AC 167), Thiruvarur; son of R. Soundarajan
Profession
Educator (M.Com., B.Ed.); engaged in industry and agriculture; politician — has contested Mannargudi for AIADMK in 2016 and AMMK in 2021 and 2026
District
Thiruvarur

Education

  • 1989M.Com. — Thiruvika Government College, Thiruvarur (Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli).
  • 1990B.Ed. — Annamalai University, Chidambaram.

Party & ideology

Kamaraj's politics has been rooted in the AIADMK Dravidian tradition before moving with the Sasikala-Dhinakaran faction to AMMK after 2017. His Mannargudi base sits at the intersection of education-business interests and the Sasikala family's home turf, making the AMMK alignment a natural fit. As the lone AMMK MLA in the 17th Assembly, his position became unusually consequential in the May 2026 government-formation arithmetic — but the public dispute between AMMK leadership and TVK over a support letter left his role inside the AMMK structure, and his stand in the 13 May 2026 floor test, an open question in May 2026; AMMK general secretary Dhinakaran said he alone would speak for the party.

Family

Son of R. Soundarajan. Spouse runs agriculture and industry interests per ECI affidavit; spouse name not separately disclosed in the affidavit summary. Family otherwise private.

Notable statements

“These are the visuals of AMMK MLA Kamaraj voluntarily and happily writing a letter expressing his support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. He had stated that he was extending support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam with the approval of AMMK General Secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran.”

— TVK official statement, 9 May 2026, accompanying a video of S. Kamaraj signing a letter (per Deccan Herald, Republic World)

“If the letter is true, why was only a copy of it submitted to the Governor? Where is the original letter then? This could very well be an AI-generated video.”

— T. T. V. Dhinakaran, AMMK General Secretary, 9 May 2026 press statement and Guindy police complaint (per The Week, Business Standard)

Questions people ask

Who did he defeat in 2026?

He defeated the DMK's sitting Industries Minister T. R. B. Rajaa (66,850 votes) by 1,566 votes, with TVK's U. Rajarajan third at 44,266 votes.

What is the 'forged support letter' controversy?

On 8–9 May 2026, TVK submitted a copy of a letter to Governor R. V. Arlekar claiming Kamaraj's support for Vijay's government-formation bid. AMMK General Secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran filed a police complaint at Guindy alleging the letter was forged and that an accompanying video was AI-generated. TVK denied the charge and released its own video purportedly showing Kamaraj signing voluntarily. The Tamil Nadu DGP began a preliminary inquiry; the Saturday swearing-in was postponed and Vijay was sworn in on 10 May without AMMK being counted in the 120-MLA tally. The matter is at the police-inquiry stage and no FIR or court ruling on the letter's authenticity had been issued at the time of the swearing-in.

Has he contested Mannargudi before?

Yes — in 2016 on the AIADMK ticket, when he lost to DMK's T. R. B. Rajaa by 9,937 votes; and in 2021 on the AMMK ticket, when he finished third. The 2026 win is his first.

What are his declared assets?

Total assets of approximately ₹21.39 crore per his 2026 ECI affidavit, with around ₹24.49 crore in liabilities (largely bank and financial-institution loans). One pending criminal case under IPC Sections 109 (abetment) and 436 (mischief by fire/explosive substance). No convictions.

Other MLAs from Thiruvarur district

K. MarimuthuThiruthuraipoondi · CPIPoondi K. KalaivananThiruvarur · DMKR. KamarajNannilam · AIADMK

Page last changed 2 October 2026.

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