Women Vote Eludes Stalin, A Surprised Durga Finds Out In Kolathur

Nothing has shocked the DMK first family more than the defeat of former Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin from Kolathur Assembly constituency, a seat he had represented thrice since 2011. He is the fourth sitting Chief Minister in Tamil Nadu to lose an Assembly election. Stalin had lost by 8,795 votes to V S Babu, the TVK candidate. Interestingly Babu was once a close associate of the DMK president. It is being said Stalin and his wife Durga would regularly visit Kolathur. That is why Durga Stain was shocked that her husband had narrowly lost from a seat that the couple had carefully nurtured—particularly by reaching out to women’s groups. When Durga Stalin asked for feedback from Kolathur women why Stalin lost in spite of regular interface with local women’s groups, she was in for a shock. She was told that the Stalins had never actually interacted with local women. Instead, women from other areas were brought in by busloads to interact with Stalins. Stalin had held the seat since its creation in 2011. He had previously secured the seat with margins exceeding 37,000 votes in 2016 and over 70,000 in 2021. In contrast, son Udhayanidhi Stalin retained his Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency for the second time.