Elections to appoint the 234 members of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the highest body of the Government of Tamil Nadu, were held on 23 April 2026. The results were declared on 4 May 2026 by the Election Commission of India. It recorded the highest voter turnout in the state's history (85.1%). The new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), founded by Tamil actor C. Joseph Vijay, won in its first-ever election and ended a 59-year streak of dominance of Dravidian parties in the state.

The TVK contested alone in 233 constituencies. It positioned itself as a rival to the oscillating duopoly of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and an ideological opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party of the Government of India. The incumbent DMK led the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which was part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance led by the Lok Sabha opposition, the Indian National Congress (INC); the SPA swept all the 39 seats in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The opposition AIADMK was part of the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Nearly all exit poll agencies projected a second consecutive term for the DMK. In an upset result, the TVK emerged as the single largest party above the DMK and AIADMK, amassing 108 seats but short of majority (118). The SPA was reduced to 73 seats, with the DMK securing 59 and the INC five. The NDA won 53 seats, with the AIADMK securing 47 and the BJP only one. This created Tamil Nadu's first hung assembly. The AIADMK lost its official opposition status to the DMK.

Dubbed a watershed moment in modern Tamil Nadu history, the election marked the first time a non-Dravidian party emerged as the largest party in the assembly since the 1960s, breaking a tradition of power alternating between the DMK and the AIADMK. The outgoing Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. K. Stalin of the DMK, lost his election from the Kolathur constituency where he had previously won thrice consecutively. The TVK's chief-ministerial candidate Vijay won both the Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies he contested. The AIADMK's former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, retained Edappadi with the widest winning margin in the state. On 5 May 2026, Stalin resigned as Chief Minister. In the next few days, Vijay met the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Rajendra Arlekar, multiple times to stake claim to the formation of the new government, resulting in tensions and uncertainty. Vijay pursued a majority by inviting SPA parties other than DMK to render their support; INC left the SPA and joined the TVK government, while four other SPA parties extended their support to a TVK-led coalition government without leaving the alliance. Upon confirming a majority to Arlekar, Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 May 2026. His government passed the floor test on 13 May.

Political critics and journalists stated that the anti-incumbency against the DMK government, Vijay's mobilization of his fanclubs into an unified party, TVK's well-funded and highly organized digital campaign portraying itself as a fresh, corruption-free alternative as opposed to the perceived fatigue over the Dravidian tenures as major factors that fueled Vijay's success, drawing comparisons with former actor-turned-Chief Ministers M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. Analysts reported that TVK hauled the votebanks of both the DMK and AIADMK, pulling their youth, women, urban, and first-time voters irrespective of caste or religious affiliations, and attributed Vijay's appeal more to a promise of change rather than a meticulous ideology, highlighting the party's extensive and instrumental use of social media.

By June 2026, seven assembly seats had become vacant as Vijay resigned one of his two seats, and six AIADMK MLAs resigned their seats to join TVK, drawing horse-trading allegations from critics argued that these are attempts by the TVK government to obtain an absolute majority. The by-elections in two of those seven constituencies are set for 6 October 2026.

Background Elections to state legislative assemblies in India are usually held once in five years, and the members of the legislative assembly are directly elected to serve five year terms from single-member constituencies. The previous assembly elections were held in April 2021 to elect the 234 members of the 16th Tamil Nadu Assembly, and the tenure of the assembly ends on 10 May 2026. In the previous election, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) formed the state government after winning 159 of the 234 seats, and M. K. Stalin sworn in as the chief minister. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which won 66 seats, became the principal opposition party and its leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami was elected and served as the leader of the opposition.

In June 2022, three members–O. Panneerselvam, P. H. Manoj Pandian, and R. Vaithilingam were expelled from the AIADMK. In August 2022, P. Ayyappan of the AIADMK also joined the expelled faction. K. A. Sengottaiyan was expelled from AIADMK in October 2025, and subsequently resigned from his position as a member of the assembly in November 2025. Manoj Pandian resigned as a member of the assembly in November 2025 and joined the DMK, with Vaithilingam following suit in January 2026. In late 2025, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) split into two factions, with three members expressing support to Anbumani Ramadoss and two members supporting S. Ramadoss. After Anbumani was recognised as the official leader of the PMK, Ramadoss formed a splinter faction of the PMK. Two members–T. K. Amulkandasami (AIADMK) and K. Ponnusamy (DMK) died on 21 June 2025 and 23 October 2025 respectively. On 27 February 2026, Pannerselvam and Ayyappan resigned from the assembly and joined the DMK.

+Composition of the assembly 2021 election result As on 27 February 2026 Party Seats Party Seats 133 133 66 60 18 17 5 3 APMK 2 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 2 7Total 234- 234

Schedule

The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the election on 15 March 2026.

EventDate Nomination 30 March 2026 Deadline for filing nominations 6 April 2026 Scrutiny of nominations 7 April 2026 Deadline for withdrawal of nomination 9 April 2026 Polling 23 April 2026 Counting of votes 4 May 2026 Deadline for the completion of election process 6 May 2026

Parties and alliances Secular Progressive Alliance

On 9 March 2024, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam joined the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). Parties which formed part of the DMK-led alliance –Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, that won all the 39 seats in the state in the 2024 general election, remained with the alliance despite emerging strains during subsequent seat-sharing negotiations.

On 19 February 2026, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam joined the DMK-led alliance. On 22 March 2026, T. Velmurugan-led Tamilaga Valvurimai Katchi withdrew its support to the DMK-led SPA. On 24 March 2026, Haasan announced that the Makkal Needhi Maiam would not contest the election, and would extended its support to the alliance. On 28 March 2026, DMK president Stalin released the party's candidate list for the assembly elections. The Congress released its list of candidates on 3 April 2026.

colspan="7" Secular Progressive Alliance Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats M. K. Stalin 164 176 Vaiko 4 E. R. Eswaran 2 M. H. Jawahirullah 2 Thamimum Ansari 1 Mukkulathor Pulipadai Karunas 1 V. M. S. Mohamed Mubarak 1 Tamilar Desam Katchi K. K. Selvakumar 1 K. Selvaperunthagai 28 Premalatha Vijayakanth 10 Thol. Thirumavalavan 8 P. Shanmugam 5 M. Veerapandian 5 K. M. Kader Mohideen 2 Total 234

AIADMK-led Alliance

On 25 September 2023, the AIADMK withdrew from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 2024 general election, the AIADMK-led Alliance and the BJP-led NDA contested separately and both did not win any seat in the state. On 11 April 2025, both the parties reunited to form an alliance, with Palaniswami as the chief ministerial candidate. On 7 January 2026, the PMK, led by Anbumani, formally joined the AIADMK-led front. On 21 January 2026, T. T. V. Dhinakaran–led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) joined the alliance.

On 15 March 2026, the AIADMK constituted a four-member committee to hold consultations with its allies for seat sharing. On 23 March 2026, the AIADMK announced that it had finalised seat-sharing agreements with its principle allies, BJP, PMK and AMMK. On 25 March 2026, AIADMK released its first list of 23 candidates. The party released its second list, comprising 127 candidates on 27 March, and the final list of 17 candidates on 29 March 2026. On 30 March 2026, the PMK released the list of its candidates for the polls. The BJP released its list of candidates on 3 April 2026.

colspan="7" AIADMK-led Alliance Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Edappadi K. Palaniswami 166 172 T. R. Paarivendhar 2 M. Jagan Moorthy 1 A. C. Shanmugam 1 Singa Tamizhar Munnetra Kazhagam R. V. Bharathan 1 Tamil Maanila Bahujan Samaj Party Porkodi Armstrong 1 Nainar Nagendran 26 33 G. K. Vasan 5 South Indian Forward Bloc K. C. Thirumaran 1 B. John Pandian 1 Anbumani Ramadoss 18 T. T. V. Dhinakaran 11 Total 234

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam On 2 February 2024, actor C. Joseph Vijay announced the formation of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), stating that it would contest the 2026 elections. On 18 March 2026, Vijay announced that the TVK will contest solo in all the 234 constituencies, and announced all the candidate list on 29 March 2026. Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam C. Joseph Vijay 233 Independent K. Premkumar 1

AJPK–AIPTMMK Alliance

On 20 March 2026, the Ramadoss-led faction of the PMK, joined hands with All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, led by V. K. Sasikala, to contest the assembly elections. On 30 March 2026, Ramadoss released first list of five candidates and Sasikala released a list of 21 candidates. On 31 March 2026, PMK(R) released a second list of candidates for ten constituencies. On 31 March 2026, AIPMMK released a second list of 38 candidates. On 1 April, Sasikala released a third list of five candidates. On 2 April, Ramadoss released the third and fourth list of ten and eight candidates respectively. On 4 April 2026, Sasikala released a fourth list of nine candidates.

colspan="7" APMK–AIPTMMK Alliance Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam V. K. Sasikala 71 82 Pasumpon Makkal Desam 2 Vellalar Munnetra Kazhagam 1 Others 8 Anaithindhiya Jananayaka Padhugappu Kazhagam S. Ramadoss 38 Total 120

Others

In February 2026, Naam Tamilar Katchi released its list of 234 candidates for the polls. Puthiya Tamilagam released its first list of 43 candidates for the elections on 29 March 2026, and followed it up with a second list of 27 candidates on the next day.

In February 2025, All India N. R. Congress, the ruling party in the nearby union territory of Puducherry announced its intention to contest in the Tamil Nadu state elections.

Party Flag Symbol Leader Seats Seeman 234 T. Velmurugan 170 P. Anandan 118 K. Krishnasamy 70

Party-wise contest Note: As per the party of the official symbol on which candidates contested. Alliance and Partycolspan="4" AIADMK+ AIADMK BJP PMK AMMKrowspan="8" SPA DMK 135 25 8 8 INC 18 5 3 2 DMDK 6 4 VCK 5 2 1 CPI(M) 2 2 1 CPI 4 1 IUML 2 Total234