Hundreds of TVK supporters who had gathered at the Taluk office in Edappadi town for scrutiny on Tuesday were left dejected after the nomination papers of the party’s candidate, M Arun Kumar, as well as his substitute, were rejected.
Chennai: TVK chief and actor Vijay addresses supporters during a roadshow after filing his nomination from Perambur for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on March 30, 2026. (Photo: IANS)
In a major setback for the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which is making its electoral debut in these high-octane assembly polls under the leadership of film star-turned-politician Vijay, the nomination papers of the party’s candidate contesting against AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) in his home turf of Edappadi were found to be not in order and were rejected during scrutiny.
Hundreds of TVK supporters who had gathered at the Taluk office in Edappadi town for scrutiny on Tuesday were left dejected after the nomination papers of the party’s candidate, M Arun Kumar, as well as his substitute, were rejected. Confusion reigned supreme as Arun Kumar went missing soon after marking his presence, with his mobile phone switched off. Alleging that the party’s nominee had been abducted, TVK cadres staged a protest and raised slogans. Police intervened and restored normalcy after assuring supporters that efforts were underway to trace the missing candidate.
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Both the ruling DMK and the TVK have fielded greenhorns to take on the former Chief Minister, who has won from Edappadi three consecutive times since 2011 and is contesting from the constituency for the eighth time. While the nomination papers of DMK’s C Kasi, which were briefly held up over a discrepancy in his signature, were accepted following the intervention of former minister TM Selvaganapathy, the TVK has been left without a candidate in the constituency, puncturing the party’s image and exposing its organisational weakness.
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Explaining the reason behind the rejection of Arun Kumar’s papers, Returning Officer P Natarajan said that candidates of unrecognised parties are required to have 10 proposers, but the TVK nominee had only seven. The party’s substitute candidate also faced the same issue, he added.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife about possible foul play as Arun Kumar is said to be closely associated with R Elangovan of Salem, a trusted lieutenant of EPS. The exact number of TVK candidates in the fray will only be known after the withdrawal of nominations on Thursday.
Though Vijay had dismissed the AIADMK as being of no consequence and maintained that the electoral fight was only between the TVK and DMK, the party’s inability to field a candidate against EPS tells a different story, analysts observed.
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