Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2026: VCK to contest eight seats in DMK-led alliance

The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) led by Thol. Thirumavalavan has been allocated eight seats in the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) for the upcoming Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

The seat-sharing agreement was signed by DMK president M.K. Stalin and Mr. Thirumavalavan on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai. As per the arrangement between the two parties, the VCK will contest six reserved Assembly segments and two general constituencies.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the party contested six seats — Kattumannarkoil (SC), Cheyyur (SC), Nagapattinam, Thiruporur, Arakkonam (SC), and Vanur (SC). The party won four seats, barring Arakkonam and Vanur (SC).

Speaking to reporters at Anna Arivalayam, Mr. Thirumavalavan said he had discussed with Mr. Stalin the resolution passed by his party on Monday (March 23), seeking seats in double digits for the upcoming Assembly election and a Rajya Sabha seat in 2028.

He said a total of 23 parties are part of the SPA, which is an ideological alliance not only in Tamil Nadu but also at the national level, with the intention of countering “right-wing religious forces.” At this juncture, the decision to accept eight seats was taken, considering that the victory of the alliance is as important as the interests of the VCK.

Mr. Thirumavalavan said the SPA would win more than 200 seats. He also said the responsibility of defeating the “right-wing alliance of the Sangh Parivar” on the one hand and forces distorting the ideologies of Karl Marx, B.R. Ambedkar, and Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in the name of campaigning against Dravidian politics, on the other, rests more with the VCK.

He said no emphasis had been placed on the Rajya Sabha seat as of now, as all vacant seats had already been filled. He said his party would discuss it with the DMK when a vacancy arises in the future.