Melur
Melur — Congress wins by 2,724 votes, breaks AIADMK's quarter-century hold and lands one of just 5 INC seats in TN 2026
Melur was an AIADMK fortress for 25 years. R. Samy won it in 2001, 2006 and 2011, then Periyapullan @ P. Selvam took over and held it in 2016 (margin 19,723) and 2021 (margin 35,162). Congress had not won this seat since the 1990s. In 2026 INC's P. Viswanathan ended the streak by edging TVK's A. Maduraiveeran by just 2,724 votes — making Melur one of only five seats Congress won across Tamil Nadu in the 2026 assembly election.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P.VISWANATHAN | CONG | 60,080 | 31.80% |
| 2 | A.MADURAIVEERAN | TVK | 57,356 | 30.35% |
| 3 | P.PERIYAPULLAN (A) SELVAM | AIADMK | 56,744 | 30.03% |
| 4 | KOTTAIKUMAR | NTK | 9,570 | 5.06% |
| 5 | SONIAGANDHI | IND | 2,628 | 1.39% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P.VISWANATHAN | INC | 594 | 59,486 | 60,080 |
| 2 | A.MADURAIVEERAN | TVK | 440 | 56,916 | 57,356 |
| 3 | P.PERIYAPULLAN (A) SELVAM | AIADMK | 417 | 56,327 | 56,744 |
| 4 | KOTTAIKUMAR | NTK | 130 | 9,440 | 9,570 |
| 5 | SONIAGANDHI | AIPTMM | 69 | 2,559 | 2,628 |
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 Melur
Melur is the granite-and-paddy belt east of Madurai, a taluk town that runs into the Sirumalai foothills and the cotton fields of Sivaganga. Its calendar revolves around Karuppanasamy and Ayyanar folk-deity shrines — terracotta horses, all-night kovil festivals, the kind of village ritualism Madurai's urban temples have shed. Alagar Koil, the Vaishnavite hill temple central to the Chithirai festival's Kallazhagar river ride, sits on Melur's western edge. Pasumalai's slopes and Othakadai's industrial fringe pull the constituency toward Madurai city, while the eastern villages still farm cotton, paddy and groundnut on rain-fed land.
Melur & Alagar Koil
Melur is granite, paddy and folk religion east of Madurai. Climb to Alagar Koil — the Vaishnavite hill temple whose Kallazhagar rides into Madurai for Chithirai — then drive past Karuppanasamy shrines lined with terracotta horses. The Sirumalai slopes lie north; Pasumalai and Othakadai pull you back toward the city.
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