DMK Announces Candidate List: CM MK Stalin To Contest From Kolathur, Udhayanidhi From Chepauk-Triplicane

The DMK publicises its initial candidate list for the Tamil Nadu elections, confirming key incumbents, including MK Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin, and detailing how seats are shared with Congress and regional allies across all 234 assembly constituencies.

Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK chief MK Stalin has released the party’s first candidate list for the Tamil Nadu elections, confirming that MK Stalin will again fight from Kolathur and deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin from Chepauk-Triplicane, while also outlining how many assembly seats allies like Congress and Left parties will contest.

Along with the renominations of MK Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin, the list includes O Panneerselvam for the Bodinayakkanur assembly seat and former minister Senthil Balaji for Coimbatore South, signalling DMK’s choices for key constituencies as the alliance prepares for a contest in all 234 Tamil Nadu assembly segments.

Tamil Nadu elections candidates list and alliances

MK Stalin stated that DMK will field candidates in 164 of the 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu elections, while alliance partners have been allotted the remaining constituencies, with Congress getting 28 seats, DMDK 10, VCK 8, and both CPI and CPM receiving five seats each under the seat-sharing arrangement.

The seat distribution for the Tamil Nadu elections among DMK and allies is shown below, highlighting how the ruling party remains the senior partner in the alliance while ensuring representation for national and regional partners across different regions of the state.

Through this first announcement for the Tamil Nadu elections, MK Stalin has clarified both individual candidacies and the partnership structure, with DMK contesting the largest share, Congress remaining the main national ally, and smaller allies like VCK, CPI and CPM retaining defined spaces within the broader front.

Tamil Nadu elections coverage and editorial team

Majid Alam is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times in New Delhi, overseeing online desk shifts, managing the homepage, and working on writing, editing and curation, with more than six years of journalism experience covering national politics, international affairs, and government policy debates that also intersect with developments like the Tamil Nadu elections.

Majid Alam’s reporting focuses on the politics of the Hindi heartland, governance issues, and South Asia, while also exploring how US and European policies relate to India; before joining Hindustan Times, Majid worked as Chief Copy Editor at ABP LIVE and earlier at News18, where Majid handled the World and Explainers sections.

Majid Alam’s articles have appeared in Dialogue Earth, The Quint, BMJ, The Diplomat, and Outlook India, and Majid uses data-driven storytelling in coverage that can include state polls such as the Tamil Nadu elections; Majid holds a Masters in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia and received an Erasmus+ scholarship to study International Affairs at Sciences Po, Paris in 2020.

Beyond newsroom responsibilities that include tracking developments like the Tamil Nadu elections, Majid Alam writes academic work and teaches, having contributed the book chapter "Bombay Cinema and Postmodernism" to the book "Handbook of Research on Social and Cultural Dynamics in Indian Cinema.", joined the OCEANS Network delegation to Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam in 2025, and now serves as National Representative (India) in the OCEANS Network.