The picture is now clear. Karthik Mohan of the DMK is up against S. R. Vijayakumar of the AIADMK and Aadhav Arjuna of the TVK in Tamil Nadu's Villivakkam Assembly constituency. Another notable contestant in the fray is the NTK's Roshini.
Who is Aadhav Arjuna?
Aadhav Arjuna served as the Deputy General Secretary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) before joining Vijay's political project. "Mr Arjuna, who has been appointed as the party’s election campaign management general secretary, will function along with my political strategist John Arockiyasamy in organising election campaigns,” the Kollywood icon had said in a statement announcing Arjuna's TVK entry in January 2025.
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There were rumours about the duo's association as the superstar, in late 2024, had launched the book Ellorukkumaana Thalaivar Ambedkar, authored by Arjuna.
Can TVK upset DMK in its bastion?
Coming back to Villivakkam, the constituency falls within the limits of the Chennai Central Lok Sabha seat and is currently represented by the DMK's A. Vetriazhagan. Chennai Central is considered a DMK bastion. He had won against the AIADMK's J. C. D. Prabhakar by a margin of 37,237 votes. The NTK finished fourth behind the MNM but had consolidated 10,000-odd votes.
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In 2016, however, the DMK faced a stiffer challenge as B. Ranganathan could only manage a victory of 9,321 votes over Thadi M. Raju of its arch-nemesis. In 2011, the AIADMK's J. C. D. Prabhakar had won the seat by 10,782 votes, breaking a decade-long DMK dominance.
Unconfirmed reports had earlier said that DMK district secretary Sekar Babu backed the party's decision to field Karthik Mohan for the seat after they received a hint that the TVK would be fielding Arjuna. Sekar Babu had reportedly assured the state leadership that he will personally work for Mohan’s victory.
Villivakkam is among the seats where connectivity, traffic congestion, industrial pollution, and similar civic issues have taken centre stage ahead of the assembly polls. Better bus connectivity, roads, and a solution to the Otteri Nullah flooding are among the local issues that could affect the voting patterns of the residents.
