Explained: Why is T T V Dhinakaran contesting from Kovilpatti?

Tamil Nadu elections: Kovilpatti is being seen as a safe seat for Dhinakaran given that the AMMK candidate had polled about 20,000 votes in the Assembly segment in the last Lok Sabha elections.

AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran (Facebook/TTV Dhinakaran)

AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran will be contesting the Assembly elections from Kovilpatti near Tuticorin instead of the R K Nagar seat, which he won in the 2017 bypolls. Dhinakaran is believed to have opted for Kovilpatti because of the party’s success in the local body polls in the region in 2019.

In the Kayathar panchayat union (one of the two unions in Kovilpatti), headed by Dhinakaran’s close associate S V S P Manickaraja, AMMK has 13 councillors, while the AIADMK and the DMK have one and two councillors, respectively. Manickaraja also holds considerable influence over the Mukkulathur Thevar community in the region and Dhinakaran, also a Thevar, is hoping to bag their votes. He is also hoping to cash in on the strong sympathy among the community for Sasikala (a Thevar), who locals feel is being “threatened and cornered” by the BJP.

Kovilpatti is also being seen as a safe seat for Dhinakaran given that the AMMK candidate had polled about 20,000 votes in the Assembly segment in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Dhinakaran will be taking on the AIADMK’s sitting MLA and minister Kadambur C Raju, who won from the seat both in 2016 and 2011. But AMMK insiders believe Manickaraja’s influence and Dhinakaran’s popularity in the region will help defeat Raju. “It is a three-cornered contest. Dhinakaran will either win or come second, but minister Raju finish in the third place for sure,” said a source close to AMMK campaign in Kovilpatti.

The DMK-led alliance is fielding K Srinivasan of the CPI(M), and heavyweight leaders, including Kanimozhi, have already started campaigning for their candidate in the region.

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Arun Janardhanan

Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority. Expertise Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews. Key Coverage Areas: State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor. Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties. Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu. Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail. His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More