TN 2026 result  ›  All 234 seats  ›  Rishivandiyam
AC 78 · Kallakurichi District · Tamil Nadu

Rishivandiyam

2026 Legislative Assembly · Result declared 04 May 2026 · ECI official
The story

Rishivandiyam 2026: DMK's Karthikeyan back with a tighter 4,862-vote win

DMK's K. Karthikeyan held Rishivandiyam with 89,711 votes, ahead of TVK's G. Ashok Kumar by 4,862. The margin has compressed sharply from his earlier wins on the seat: 41,728 votes in 2021 and 20,503 in 2016. Before Karthikeyan, DMDK chief Vijayakanth carried the seat in 2011 by 30,795.

KK
Winner · MLA-elect
KARTHIKEYAN K
DMK
89,711 votes (36.88% of polled)
→ View Karthikeyan K's full MLA profile
Runner-up: ASHOK KUMAR G (TVK) with 84,849 votes — trailed by 4,862 votes (2.00% of polled).
Margin
4,862
votes
Polled
2,43,259
total votes cast
Candidates
26
on the ballot
Winner share
36.88%
of polled

Vote share — top finishers

Top 5 candidates

# Candidate Party Votes Share
1KARTHIKEYAN KDMK89,71136.88%
2ASHOK KUMAR GTVK84,84934.88%
3CHEZHIYAN PPMK56,48823.22%
4RADHIKA PNTK7,2472.98%
5SENTHIKUMAR V NIND1,0710.44%

Postal ballot breakdown

Postal ballots are counted before EVM rounds and reflect votes cast by polling-duty staff, government officers on election duty, and absentee voters. 1,645 postal ballots were counted in this constituency.

#CandidatePartyPostal votesEVM votesTotal
1KARTHIKEYAN KDMK84088,87189,711
2ASHOK KUMAR GTVK38484,46584,849
3CHEZHIYAN PPMK35356,13556,488
4RADHIKA PNTK547,1937,247
5NOTANOTA6528534

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.

2026
K. KarthikeyanDMK
runner-upG. Ashok KumarTVK
4,862vote margin
2021
K. KarthikeyanDMK
runner-upS. A. SanthoshAIADMK
41,728vote margin
2016
K. KarthikeyanDMK
runner-upK. DhandapaniAIADMK
20,503vote margin
2011
VijayakanthAIADMKDMDK
runner-upS. SivarajDMKINC
30,795vote margin
2006pre-delim.
S. SivarajDMKINC
runner-upL. AthinarayananAIADMK
7,935vote margin

About Rishivandiyam

Rishivandiyam is a rural constituency in the new Kallakurichi district, carved out of the Vanniyar heartland of Salem-Viluppuram fringes. The seat covers Sankarapuram and Rishivandiyam blocks, with cashew, tapioca and sugarcane forming the rural backbone. Around 2.43 lakh voters polled in 2026. Politically it is best remembered as the seat from which DMDK founder Vijayakanth fought in 2011, and DMK's K. Karthikeyan has held it since 2016. The big local issues are tapioca procurement prices, Sankarapuram road upgrades and groundwater pumping.

From TN Explorer

Plan a Rishivandiyam trip

Cashew belts, Sankarapuram hills and rural temples
kallakurichiruralcashewhills

Drive the Sankarapuram-Kallakurichi road through cashew plantations and stop at the hilltop Periyamudaiyan temple. The Manimuktha river dam and Kalvarayan hills foothills sit within an hour's drive for a weekend escape.

Plan your trip on TN Explorer →
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