Vellore
Vellore 2026: TVK's Vinoth Kannan unseats two-term MLA Karthikeyan by 6,777 votes
TVK's M. M. Vinoth Kannan took the Vellore city seat by 6,777 votes over DMK's P. Karthikeyan, who had won here in 2016 and 2021. Before that, AIADMK's Dr. V. S. Vijay had carried Vellore in 2011 and Congress's C. Gnanasekharan in 2006. The change in 2026 ends a decade of DMK control over the district headquarters seat.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M.M.VINOTH KANNAN | TVK | 73,032 | 38.70% |
| 2 | P.KARTHIKEYAN | DMK | 66,255 | 35.11% |
| 3 | S R K APPU | AIADMK | 45,458 | 24.09% |
| 4 | A.SONIYA | NTK | 3,793 | 2.01% |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 757 | 0.40% |
Postal ballot breakdown
Postal-ballot leader differs from overall winner. DMK P.KARTHIKEYAN led postal ballots (668), but TVK M.M.VINOTH KANNAN won the seat overall (73,032).
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P.KARTHIKEYAN | DMK | 668 | 65,587 | 66,255 |
| 2 | S R K APPU | AIADMK | 524 | 44,934 | 45,458 |
| 3 | M.M.VINOTH KANNAN | TVK | 469 | 72,563 | 73,032 |
| 4 | A.SONIYA | NTK | 62 | 3,731 | 3,793 |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 12 | 745 | 757 |
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 Vellore
Vellore is a fort city on the Palar that doubles as a regional medical and education hub. The 16th-century Vellore Fort with its Jalakandeswarar temple and St. John's church sits at the centre, ringed by CMC Hospital, Voorhees College and the bustling Long Bazaar. The seat takes in Sathuvachari, Konavattam and Old Town wards, with leather, hospitality, and education driving the local economy. Vellore politics turns on water release from the Palar, traffic on the Bengaluru highway, and the pull of CMC's catchment that brings patients from across south India. The DMK held the seat through the last two cycles; in 2026 it switches to TVK.
Around Vellore
The Vellore Fort, Jalakandeswarar temple and Sripuram's gold-leafed shrine at Thirumalaikodi sit within a 30-minute drive of each other. Yelagiri hills are an easy onward run via the Jolarpet road, and the Amirthi waterfalls lie north toward the Javadhu range.
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