Vilathikulam
Vilathikulam 2026: DMK's G.V. Markandayan holds by 8,228 votes
DMK's G.V. Markandayan retained Vilathikulam with 58,395 votes, holding off TVK's P. Kasiram by 8,228 votes. The polled vote dropped to 1.72 lakh and the DMK margin shrank steeply from the 38,549-vote sweep of 2021, as TVK debuted strongly on a seat Markandayan first lost to AIADMK in 2016 before flipping it back.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MARKANDAYAN G V | DMK | 58,395 | 33.85% |
| 2 | P. KASIRAM | TVK | 50,167 | 29.08% |
| 3 | R. SATHYA | AIADMK | 48,879 | 28.33% |
| 4 | BALAJI RAMACHANDRAN | NTK | 11,780 | 6.83% |
| 5 | P.MADASAMY | IND | 2,057 | 1.19% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MARKANDAYAN G V | DMK | 937 | 57,458 | 58,395 |
| 2 | P. KASIRAM | TVK | 589 | 49,578 | 50,167 |
| 3 | R. SATHYA | AIADMK | 418 | 48,461 | 48,879 |
| 4 | BALAJI RAMACHANDRAN | NTK | 206 | 11,574 | 11,780 |
| 5 | P.MADASAMY | PT | 62 | 1,995 | 2,057 |
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 Vilathikulam
Vilathikulam is a dry-belt constituency in the north of Thoothukudi district, taking in Vilathikulam town and a wide spread of farming villages stretching into Ettayapuram and Kayathar territory. The economy runs on rain-fed paddy, cotton, chillies, palmyra, goat-rearing and a steady migration of working-age men to the Tuticorin port and Gulf jobs. The constituency has been an AIADMK stronghold for most of its post-1996 history, with G.V. Markandayan first winning it for AIADMK in 2011 before crossing over and capturing it for DMK in 2021. The Ettayapuram pancha-loga statue of poet Subramania Bharati anchors the cultural map.
Plan a visit
Drive out to Ettayapuram for Subramania Bharati's birth-house memorial, see the Kayathar wind-farm belt that stretches across the horizon, and head south for Tuticorin's pearl-diver coast and the Tiruchendur sea-shore Murugan temple.
Plan your trip on TN Explorer →