P. Viswanathan, Congress MLA elected from Melur Assembly segment in Madurai. | Photo credit: G. MOORTHY
Recent Assembly election results have shown that representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) outside the reserved constituencies remains limited in the State Assembly.
Among the four major candidates in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections – Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) – only one Scheduled Caste (SC) candidate was elected from the general constituency.
The 234-member House has 44 assembly segments reserved for SCs, while two assembly segments — Yercaud in Salem district and Senthamangalam in Namakkal district — are reserved for STs. Apart from the AIADMK front, the other three formations have fielded candidates belonging to either the SC or ST communities in the general constituencies. In such contests, the only MLA elected was P. Viswanathan of the Congress, who contested from the Melur assembly segment in Madurai district. Mr. Viswanathan, a former legislator from the Kancheepuram Lok Sabha segment, defeated his nearest rival A. Maduraiveeran of TVK by a margin of over 2,000 votes.
However, the NTK fielded a significant number of SC/ST candidates in the general constituencies, though the party failed to open its account in the Assembly. In Thousand Lights in Chennai, General Assembly segment, NTK fielded SC candidate, Mu. Kalanjiyam. He finished fourth, while TVK’s JCD Prabhakar gained a spot. Apart from the Chennai core, NTK has also fielded SC candidates in Pallavaram, Thiruporur, Pappireddipatti, Vikkravandi, Aranthangi and Bodinayakkanur – all general constituencies. The party finished fourth in all these assembly segments.
The party, which has consistently given equal number of seats to women in the last few elections, has also fielded candidate B. Murugeswari, who belongs to the ST community, in the Palani assembly segment. She finished fourth, with AIADMK candidate K. Ravimanoharan winning the seat. TVK also fielded one SC candidate in the general constituency. A. Jagadesan of TVK contested from Sankarapuram and finished third.
Apart from the general constituencies, the 46 reserved assembly constituencies have often played a decisive role in shaping the overall election result as they are spread over multiple regions of Tamil Nadu. In the 2026 council elections, TVK, which emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats, performed well even in reserved constituencies. Of the 44 Assembly segments reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), the party won 23 seats. The DMK, which has traditionally enjoyed strong support in reserved constituencies, managed to secure only nine seats, the AIADMK eight.
Among minor parties, VCK won Kattumannarkoil and Tindivanam. CPI and CPI(M) retained Thiruthuraipoondi in Tiruvarur district and Kilvelur in Nagapattinam district. Of the two constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST), the AIADMK won Yercaud in Salem district, while the TVK secured Senthamangalam in Namakkal district.
Compared to the 2021 assembly elections, TVK significantly outperformed both DMK and AIADMK in reserved constituencies. In 2021, the DMK-led alliance dominated the reserved SC seats by winning 28 constituencies. DMK alone won 21 seats while its allies Congress, VCK and CPI(M) secured two seats each and CPI one seat. This performance helped the DMK-led alliance comfortably cross the majority line.
Published – May 9, 2026 0:53 AM IST
