Rajapalayam
Rajapalayam 2026: TVK's Jegadeshwari beats DMK MLA Thangapandian by 10,605
TVK's K. Jegadeshwari won Rajapalayam with 65,548 votes, defeating two-term DMK MLA S. Thangapandian on 54,943. The 10,605-vote margin in a 23-candidate field ends a decade of personal hold by Thangapandian, who had taken the seat by under 5,000 in both 2016 and 2021.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JEGADESHWARI. K | TVK | 65,548 | 36.28% |
| 2 | THANGAPANDIAN. S | DMK | 54,943 | 30.41% |
| 3 | PRISCILLA PANDIAN. J | BJP | 36,318 | 20.10% |
| 4 | DR. KARTHIKEYAN. T.E. | NTK | 16,972 | 9.39% |
| 5 | RAMADEVI. T | IND | 2,544 | 1.41% |
Postal ballot breakdown
Postal-ballot leader differs from overall winner. DMK THANGAPANDIAN. S led postal ballots (754), but TVK JEGADESHWARI. K won the seat overall (65,548).
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THANGAPANDIAN. S | DMK | 754 | 54,189 | 54,943 |
| 2 | JEGADESHWARI. K | TVK | 601 | 64,947 | 65,548 |
| 3 | PRISCILLA PANDIAN. J | BJP | 440 | 35,878 | 36,318 |
| 4 | DR. KARTHIKEYAN. T.E. | NTK | 297 | 16,675 | 16,972 |
| 5 | RAMADEVI. T | PT | 59 | 2,485 | 2,544 |
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 Rajapalayam
Rajapalayam (AC 202) is the cotton-and-spinning-mill heart of Virudhunagar district, with rows of textile units, the famous Rajapalayam Rakshak hound breed and the Western Ghats foothills rising at the western edge. The constituency takes in Rajapalayam town, Sandhayur, Cholapuram and parts of the Srivilliputhur fringe. S. Thangapandian (DMK) won here narrowly in 2016 and 2021, with K. Gopalsamy (AIADMK) holding it in 2011; the 2026 result hands it to TVK on a debut.
When you are in Rajapalayam
Visit one of the small Rajapalayam Rakshak kennels on the town's outskirts to see the milk-white sighthound up close, then drive out to Sandhayur for the cool reservoir walk. The textile co-ops near Cholapuram still sell handloom mill-cloth straight from the looms.
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