Katpadi
Katpadi 2026: TVK's M. Sudhakar wins by 5,870 votes, ends Duraimurugan's four-term run
TVK's M. Sudhakar took Katpadi by 5,870 votes over AIADMK's V. Ramu, breaking a streak that DMK veteran Duraimurugan had held since 2006. Duraimurugan won the seat in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, surviving a 746-vote scare from V. Ramu in the last round. The 2026 verdict shifts a long-standing DMK fortress for the first time in two decades.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR M SUDHAKAR | TVK | 69,868 | 34.69% |
| 2 | V. RAMU | AIADMK | 63,998 | 31.77% |
| 3 | DURAIMURUGAN | DMK | 62,225 | 30.89% |
| 4 | S. THIRUKKUMARAN | NTK | 4,625 | 2.30% |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 745 | 0.37% |
Postal ballot breakdown
Postal-ballot leader differs from overall winner. AIADMK V. RAMU led postal ballots (677), but TVK DR M SUDHAKAR won the seat overall (69,868).
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. RAMU | AIADMK | 677 | 63,321 | 63,998 |
| 2 | DURAIMURUGAN | DMK | 603 | 61,622 | 62,225 |
| 3 | DR M SUDHAKAR | TVK | 584 | 69,284 | 69,868 |
| 4 | S. THIRUKKUMARAN | NTK | 87 | 4,538 | 4,625 |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 19 | 726 | 745 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
Past results
Verified winners and runners-up across the last five elections, with the major alliance partners each side fielded.
About Katpadi
Katpadi sits on the northern edge of Vellore city along the Palar river, anchored by the Katpadi Junction railway hub that links Chennai with Bengaluru and Tirupati. The constituency mixes the IT-academic belt around VIT University with semi-urban panchayats and weaver settlements in Sathuvachari and Gandhi Nagar. Its economy runs on the railway yard, the IIT-style engineering campuses, leather and garment units along the bypass, and small auto-component shops feeding the Ranipet industrial corridor. The seat has long been DMK leader Duraimurugan's home turf, and politics here often turns on water rights from the Palar bed, road linkages, and student-town civic issues.
Around Katpadi
Trains rolling into Katpadi Junction put visitors within reach of Vellore Fort, the Sripuram Golden Temple at Thirumalaikodi, and the Amirthi forest stream off the Javadhu road. The VIT campus and the riverside groves along the Palar make for an easy half-day from the junction.
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