Vriddhachalam
Vriddhachalam — Premalatha Vijayakant returns DMDK to the seat her husband founded in 2006
DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant — widow of late actor-politician Captain Vijayakanth — won Vriddhachalam by 2,387 votes over TVK's S. Vijay, returning the party to the very seat from which Captain Vijayakanth launched his political career in 2006. Vijayakanth won this seat as DMDK's debut candidate that year, his transfer candidate V. Muthukumar held it through 2011 (in the AIADMK alliance), and now — two years after Captain's death in December 2023 — Premalatha brings the party back to its founding constituency. PMK's P. Tamizharasi finished a strong third with 59,791 votes; the result was a near three-way contest.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PREMALLATHA VIJAYAKANT | DMDK | 69,351 | 33.49% |
| 2 | VIJAY.S | TVK | 66,964 | 32.34% |
| 3 | DR.TAMIZHARASI.P | PMK | 59,791 | 28.87% |
| 4 | ANANTHI DHANDAPANI | NTK | 6,047 | 2.92% |
| 5 | ARIVAZHAGAN.E.N | IND | 1,896 | 0.92% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PREMALLATHA VIJAYAKANT | DMDK | 726 | 68,625 | 69,351 |
| 2 | DR.TAMIZHARASI.P | PMK | 705 | 59,086 | 59,791 |
| 3 | VIJAY.S | TVK | 535 | 66,429 | 66,964 |
| 4 | ANANTHI DHANDAPANI | NTK | 85 | 5,962 | 6,047 |
| 5 | ARIVAZHAGAN.E.N | TVK | 24 | 1,872 | 1,896 |
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.
Vriddhachalam is the seat Captain Vijayakanth chose for his political debut as DMDK's candidate in 2006 — the party contested standalone that year before its later alliances. After Captain shifted to Rishivandiyam in 2011, his party retained the seat via transfer candidate V. Muthukumar (in AIADMK alliance). The 2021 contest was the closest in this seat's recent history (862-vote INC win) until Premalatha's 2026 win flipped that pattern as a comparable thriller. The 2021 result is also the only time INC has won here on a DMK-alliance ticket; both major Dravidian-major parties have otherwise traded the seat with DMDK.
About Vriddhachalam
Vriddhachalam is a deeply ancient Shiva town in Cuddalore district, on the Manimutha (Manimuktha) river. The Vriddhagiriswarar Temple at the heart of the town is a Paadal Petra Sthalam sung in the Tevaram, with a Sembiyan Mahadevi-era Chola core; the town is locally venerated as 'Virutha Kasi'. The constituency was the launch pad for Captain Vijayakanth's political career — he debuted as DMDK candidate here in 2006 and won. Cuddalore district carries Chola, French-Pondicherry and modern industrial layers; Vriddhachalam sits on the western, temple-heavy half of the district.
Vriddhachalam & the Manimutha
Vriddhachalam is a pocket of deep antiquity on the Cauvery delta's western edge — a Tevaram-praised Shiva town the Cholas crowned with stone, sitting on the Manimutha's slow bend. From here the road east opens into Chidambaram's Nataraja sabha and the Pichavaram mangroves, making the constituency a single drive from three of the Cuddalore belt's biggest pilgrim and nature draws — Vriddhagiriswarar's gopuram, Pennadam's pre-Chola Shiva, and the Manimutha dam's monsoon waters.
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