Salem (West)
Salem West 74,867-vote sweep — TVK takes the Steel City's largest-ever result
TVK's S. Lakshmanan won Salem (West) by 74,867 votes over PMK's M. Karthe — the fifth-largest margin anywhere in Tamil Nadu in 2026, and the largest the seat has produced since the 2008 delimitation. AIADMK held this seat through G. Venkatachalam in 2011 and 2016; PMK's R. Arul flipped it on the AIADMK alliance ticket in 2021. The 2026 result was a near-collapse for the AIADMK bloc — Karthe, again on the AIADMK ticket, finished with under 40% of Lakshmanan's vote tally. Salem West sits in the urban heart of TN's 'Steel City', whose SAIL Salem Steel Plant has been operating since 1982.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LAKSHMANAN.S | TVK | 1,20,407 | 51.87% |
| 2 | KARTHE.M | PMK | 45,540 | 19.62% |
| 3 | ALAGAAPURAM. R. MOHANRAJ | DMDK | 41,522 | 17.89% |
| 4 | ARUL RAMADAS | IND | 12,532 | 5.40% |
| 5 | SURESH KUMAR.R | NTK | 6,820 | 2.94% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LAKSHMANAN.S | TVK | 820 | 1,19,587 | 1,20,407 |
| 2 | KARTHE.M | PMK | 534 | 45,006 | 45,540 |
| 3 | ALAGAAPURAM. R. MOHANRAJ | DMDK | 522 | 41,000 | 41,522 |
| 4 | ARUL RAMADAS | AJPK | 141 | 12,391 | 12,532 |
| 5 | SURESH KUMAR.R | NTK | 94 | 6,726 | 6,820 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
How this seat compares
- Top-10 biggest margin in TN 2026 — a 74,867-vote lead.
- One of the most crowded ballots in TN 2026 — 32 candidates on this single seat.
- Among the highest winner shares in TN 2026 — 51.9% of polled votes.
Past results
Verified winners and runners-up across the last five elections, with the major alliance partners each side fielded.
Salem (West) was created by the 2008 delimitation; pre-2008 the area voted in the older Salem-I and Salem-II seats. The 2021 winner R. Arul was a junior partner — PMK contested on the AIADMK alliance ticket — and so the row renders as a dual pill. The 2026 runner-up M. Karthe is also PMK on the AIADMK ticket, the same dual-pill case.
About Salem West
Salem (West) — AC 88 — covers the western half of Salem city, the urban core of Tamil Nadu's 'Steel City'. The constituency was created by the 2008 delimitation; before that, the area was split across the older Salem-I and Salem-II seats. SAIL's Salem Steel Plant — India's flagship stainless-steel mill, operational since 1982 — is the city's defining industry, alongside the saree-weaving traditions, mango trade, and the gateway role to Yercaud hill station 30 km up the Shevaroy range.
Salem & the Steel City
Salem West is the urban heart of TN's Steel City — SAIL's stainless mill on one side, the Sugavaneswarar gopuram and Kottai Mariamman in the old quarter on the other. Drive 30 km up the ghats to Yercaud's quieter coffee slopes (Loop Road, Lady's Seat, Karadiyur view), or out to Sankagiri's Vijayanagara-Tipu fort and the 1934 Mettur Dam on the Cauvery. End at the Magudanchavadi food belt for Kongu-style beef chukka and country-chicken kulambu.
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