Women Candidates Face Tough Battles in Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections

High-profile women candidates, including AIADMK's Leema Rose Martin and BJP's Tamilisai Soundararajan, are locked in intense battles as early trends in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections point to a significant disruption by actor Vijay's TVK. According to data from the Election Commission of India, several seasoned women leaders are finding themselves in three-cornered contests where margins remain razor-thin. Leema Rose Martin, the state's wealthiest candidate contesting from Lalgudi, is currently in a tight contest. As of the eighth round of counting, she is trailing by approximately 5,500 votes against the DMK's T Parivallal. Political analysts note that the TVK candidate has significantly eaten into the traditional AIADMK vote share in this segment. In Mylapore, former Governor and BJP's Tamilisai Soundararajan is currently in third place. The segment is witnessing a surprising lead for the TVK candidate, followed by the DMK incumbent, as the urban vote appears to have shifted towards the actor-politician's new outfit. Similarly, sitting MLA Vanathi Srinivasan is trailing in Coimbatore South. The latest trends show her nearly 2,500 votes behind the TVK candidate as counting enters crucial middle rounds. In Perambur, AIADMK candidate Porkodi Armstrong, who is in a direct contest with TVK chief Vijay, was leading in the early rounds but has now slipped to third place as of the ninth round. Vijay has taken a commanding lead here. However, some women candidates have managed to hold their ground. While her party's candidates are struggling in most segments, DMDK chief Premalatha Vijayakanth is leading by 1,212 votes in Vriddhachalam. M R Pallavi of the TVK is maintaining a steady lead of over 9,000 votes in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar against the DMK's K S Ravichandran. Incidentally, several first-time women candidates from the TVK are outperforming seasoned politicians in urban pockets, particularly in Chennai and surrounding districts. Meanwhile, women candidates from Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), which fielded women in 50 per cent of the seats, are trailing in most constituencies, often in fourth place. Maragatham Kumaravel of the AIADMK, who held a lead of over 19,000 votes around noon, is now holding a slender lead of roughly 118 votes in Maduranthakam as of the eighth round. Election officials highlighted that women voters turned out in record numbers this year - 86.2 per cent - surpassing men and emerging as key arbiters in this high-stakes election. Of the 25.3 lakh additional voters in 2026 compared to 2021, approximately 20.8 lakh (82.4 per cent) were women. Although this election saw the highest number of women candidates so far at 443, they accounted for only 11.01 per cent of the total 4,023 candidates.