Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai — DMK's V. Muthuraja holds by 1,867 votes against TVK's K.M. Shariff
V. Muthuraja returns to Pudukkottai for the DMK with a slim 1,867-vote win over TVK's K.M. Shariff, well down from his 2021 margin. Muthuraja first took the seat in 2021 with 85,802 votes (47.9 per cent) and a 13,001-vote lead over AIADMK's Karthik Thondaiman. The seat had alternated before that: DMK's Periyannan Arassu won in 2016 by 2,084 votes, and CPI's P. Muthukumaran (AIADMK alliance) had carried it in 2011 with 65,466 votes against Periyannan, by 3,101 votes.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. MUTHURAJA | DMK | 66,825 | 35.52% |
| 2 | K.M. SHARIFF | TVK | 64,958 | 34.53% |
| 3 | N. RAMACHANDRAN | BJP | 41,089 | 21.84% |
| 4 | EZHILARASI VIJAYENDRAN | NTK | 11,673 | 6.21% |
| 5 | K. KAILASAKUMAR | IND | 669 | 0.36% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. MUTHURAJA | DMK | 1,080 | 65,745 | 66,825 |
| 2 | K.M. SHARIFF | TVK | 504 | 64,454 | 64,958 |
| 3 | N. RAMACHANDRAN | BJP | 403 | 40,686 | 41,089 |
| 4 | EZHILARASI VIJAYENDRAN | NTK | 164 | 11,509 | 11,673 |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 27 | 440 | 467 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
How this seat compares
- One of the most crowded ballots in TN 2026 — 31 candidates on this single seat.
Past results
Verified winners and runners-up across the last five elections, with the major alliance partners each side fielded.
District-headquarters seat; swung four ways in last four cycles.
About Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai is the district headquarters and the only seat in Tamil Nadu named after a princely state — the Thondaiman kingdom that survived as a sovereign British ally until amalgamation with the Indian Union on 4 March 1948. The town is anchored by the Pallava-era Kokarneswarar temple at Thirukokarnam, family-deity shrine of the Thondaiman rajas, where Brihadambal is consort. The Government Museum, started by the rajas, holds rare collections in archaeology, numismatics and zoology. Karaikudi-school veena tradition still finds patrons here. Avudaiyarkoil, the unusual Shiva shrine without a lingam, lies 30 km out, and Kallar caste politics decides this seat.
Princely Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai is the only Tamil town named for a princely state — the Thondaiman kingdom, sovereign till March 1948. Walk Thirukokarnam's Pallava-era Kokarneswarar shrine, family deity of the rajas, and the Government Museum the rajas founded, with archaeology, numismatics and bronzes. Catch a Karaikudi-school veena recital, then drive 30 km to Avudaiyarkoil, the Shiva temple with no lingam.
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