Kovilpatti
All 21 candidates
| # | Candidate | Votes · share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. KarunanithiWonDMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 61,64331.74% |
| 2 | S. BalasubramanianTVK Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam | 60,80031.30% |
| 3 | C. Kadambur RajuAIADMK All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 53,01427.29% |
| Below this line, candidates lost their deposit: 32,273 votes or fewer, one-sixth of the 1,93,639 votes for all candidates | ||
| 4 | P. Pandi (lost deposit)NTK Naam Tamilar Katchi | 11,9196.14% |
| 5 | B. Athikumar Kudumbar (lost deposit)IND Independent | 2,9921.54% |
| NOTANone of the above: not a candidate | 5930.31% | |
| 6 | S. Kannan (lost deposit)AIPTMM All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam | 4460.23% |
| 7 | K. Poundurai (lost deposit)IND Independent | 3980.20% |
| 8 | K. Premkumar (lost deposit)IND Independent | 3780.19% |
| 9 | K. Pandimuneeswari (lost deposit)IND Independent | 3670.19% |
| 10 | S. Saravanan (lost deposit)TPK Thamizh Perarasu Katchi | 3560.18% |
| 11 | S. Paramasivan (lost deposit)IND Independent | 2750.14% |
| 12 | R. Ramachandran (lost deposit)BSP Bahujan Samaj Party | 1940.10% |
| 13 | C. Sekar (lost deposit)IND Independent | 1770.09% |
| 14 | G. Hari Balakrishnan (lost deposit)PMTDK Puthiya Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi | 1390.07% |
| 15 | K. Gurusamy (lost deposit)IND Independent | 1040.05% |
| 16 | K. Chinna Maharaja (lost deposit)IND Independent | 940.05% |
| 17 | S. Renganayagalu (lost deposit)IND Independent | 900.05% |
| 18 | M. Ponnusamy (lost deposit)IND Independent | 770.04% |
| 19 | R. Muneeswaran (lost deposit)IND Independent | 690.04% |
| 20 | P. Gunasekaran (lost deposit)IND Independent | 550.03% |
| 21 | T. Arumugavel (lost deposit)NIP Naam Indiar Party | 520.03% |
Kovilpatti — DMK's K. Karunanithi ends Kadambur Raju's 15-year AIADMK hold
Kovilpatti was Kadambur C. Raju's seat for three straight terms — comfortable AIADMK wins in 2011 (margin 26,480) and 2021 (12,403), with a famous 428-vote squeaker in 2016. CPI's S. Rajendran had held it in 2001.
In 2026 DMK's K. Karunanithi (no relation to the late former CM) finally prised it loose, beating TVK's S. Balasubramanian narrowly in a tight three-cornered contest.
Where Kovilpatti was won
| Led by | Booths of 318 | Villages of 64 |
|---|---|---|
| K. Karunanithi DMK | 113 | 29 |
| S. Balasubramanian TVK | 137 | 9 |
| Others | 68 | 26 |
| Closest village | Mudukkumeendanpatti: TVK ahead by 7 | |
K. Karunanithi’s biggest leads
- Ayyanaruthu+7644 booths
- Kayathar+71413 booths
- Vellalankottai+6142 booths
S. Balasubramanian’s best villages
- Kovilpatti+4,76489 booths
- Pandavarmangalam+1,07722 booths
- Kazhugumalai+48414 booths
Counted from Form 20, booth by booth (vote leads are in votes cast at the booth; postal ballots are counted for the whole seat only).
Every village and booth
The constituency
- Reservation
- General seat (not reserved)
- Lok Sabha seat
- Thoothukkudi
- Electors, 2026
- 2,41,660women 1,24,651 (51.6%) · men 1,16,980 (48.4%) · third gender 29
Sources · electoral roll, reservation: ECI · Lok Sabha seat: 2008 delimitation order
Postal ballot breakdown
2,458 postal ballots · from polling staff, election-duty officers, absentee voters · counted before EVM rounds
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K. Karunanithi | DMK | 840 | 60,803 | 61,643 |
| 2 | S. Balasubramanian | TVK | 658 | 60,142 | 60,800 |
| 3 | C. Kadambur Raju | AIADMK | 621 | 52,393 | 53,014 |
| 4 | P. Pandi | NTK | 228 | 11,691 | 11,919 |
| 5 | B. Athikumar Kudumbar | IND | 60 | 2,932 | 2,992 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
How this seat compares
| Measure | This seat | Rank | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winning margin, votes | 843 | 222nd | 11,416 |
| Winner’s share | 31.7% | 225th | 37.4% |
| Turnout | 80.4% | 201st | 86.9% |
| Votes cast | 1,94,232 | 155th | 2,08,471 |
| Candidates | 21 | =54th | 15 |
| NOTA votes | 593 | 183rd | 784 |
| Since 2021 | DMK took the seat from AIADMK. In 2021 Kadambur C. Raju won it by 12,403 votes. | ||
Winners and runners-up, 2006–2026
2011, 2016 and 2021 rows: checked against the ECI detailed results. Earlier rows: secondary sources. Two-part pill: alliance leader first, then the candidate's party.
About Kovilpatti
Kovilpatti is the cotton-and-jaggery town of Thoothukudi's drylands, best known for Kadalai Mittai — the brittle of roasted groundnut and palm jaggery that earned a GI tag in 2014 and still ships out of the same family workshops on Mill Street.
Cotton spinning mills and matchstick units gave the town its 20th-century industrial weight, on the Madurai-Tirunelveli rail line and the road that branches east to Tiruchendur's seaside Murugan temple. The constituency runs out into rain-fed black-cotton soil, with Ettayapuram — the poet Subramania Bharati's birthplace — just to the north.
Kovilpatti & the Kadalai Mittai belt
Kovilpatti is Kadalai Mittai country — the GI-tagged groundnut-jaggery brittle still pressed by hand on Mill Street. Cotton mills and match works built the town on the Madurai-Tirunelveli line; branch east for Tiruchendur's seaside Murugan, or north to Ettayapuram, where Subramania Bharati was born.
Plan your trip on TN Explorer →Quick answers
Who won Kovilpatti in the 2026 Tamil Nadu election?
K. Karunanithi of DMK won Kovilpatti (AC 218) in the April 2026 Assembly election with 61,643 votes, 31.74% of the votes polled, ahead of S. Balasubramanian of TVK by 843 votes.
Who is the MLA of Kovilpatti?
K. Karunanithi of DMK was elected MLA for Kovilpatti in April 2026 and sits in the 17th Tamil Nadu Assembly.
What was the turnout in Kovilpatti in 2026?
Turnout was 80.4%: 1,94,232 of 2,41,660 electors voted.
Which district is Kovilpatti in?
Kovilpatti (constituency number 218) is in Thoothukudi district, part of the Thoothukkudi Lok Sabha seat.
Who won Kovilpatti before 2026?
In 2021 Kadambur C. Raju of AIADMK won by 12,403 votes over TTV Dhinakaran. In 2016 Kadambur C. Raju of AIADMK won by 428 votes over A. Subramanian.
Sources: Form 20, booth-wise result (PDF)ECI result, AC 218
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