When the DMK released its first list of 164 candidates on 28 March 2026, the name conspicuously absent was that of T. Mano Thangaraj – sitting Dairy Development Minister, two-term MLA, and one of the party’s most visible faces in Kanyakumari district. The fallout from that omission is now reportedly threatening to spill beyond internal grumbling and into open electoral rebellion.
Padmanabhapuram, the constituency Thangaraj has held since 2016, was surrendered to Congress as part of the DMK-led alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement – a move that effectively foreclosed his path to a third term. His exclusion was not entirely without context. Thangaraj was dropped from the cabinet in September 2024 amid the Aavin row and controversies surrounding alleged quarry and mining links, before being re-inducted in April 2025. The party’s internal calculations, alliance compulsions, and factional pressures all reportedly converged against him.
He is not alone. Ministers K. Ponmudi, R. Gandhi, and N. Kayalvizhi Selvaraj were also denied tickets in the same list, signalling a broader generational and political reshuffle within the ruling party.
Sources in Chennai’s political circles allege that Thangaraj held a close to hour-long meeting with TVK General Secretary (Campaigns) Aadhav Arjuna at his Poes Garden residence in the past few days. The proposal reportedly on the table: Thangaraj contests Padmanabhapuram as an independent while ensuring friendly independent candidates are fielded in Killiyoor, Colachel, and Madurai Central with an understanding that these candidates would align with TVK after election results are declared.
Breaking :
Mano Thangaraj who has been denied ticket by dmk held an hour long meet with Aadhav Arjuna at his poes garden residence / office . The proposal put forward was that Mano Thangaraj will contest as an independent from Padhmanabhapuram and he will provide independent…
— kishore k swamy 🇮🇳 (@sansbarrier) March 29, 2026
TVK, for its part, officially declared a solo contest across all 234 seats on 18 March 2026, with Vijay ruling out formal alliances. However, it is noteworthy that an informal arrangement with rebel independents is structurally different from a declared alliance and would allow TVK to expand its footprint in Kanyakumari without violating its stated solo stand.
Within TVK, the proposal is said to have found measured acceptance among key figures including Aadhav Arjuna and senior leader Sengottaiyan whose growing influence within the party over rival Bussy Anand has been reported by multiple outlets since late 2025. Bussy Anand is said to have opposed the move, reportedly on the grounds that a minister who benefited from the DMK government for years cannot be relied upon the moment he is denied a seat. The proposal, sources say, is now pending Vijay’s final word. None of these internal TVK deliberations have been officially confirmed by the party.
What It Means On The Ground
Should Thangaraj file nomination as an independent, it would put the Congress candidate, who is set to contest Padmanabhapuram under the DMK alliance, in direct difficulty. Thangaraj carries a decade of constituent relationships and local mobilisation capacity in the region. A three-way contest involving TVK, DMK-alliance, and a rebel independent in Kanyakumari’s seats could meaningfully fragment the anti-AIADMK vote with uncertain consequences for all sides.
Whether this is a negotiating tactic to pressure the DMK into reconsideration, a genuine pivot toward TVK, or simply political noise ahead of the April 23 polls remains to be seen. What is clear is that the DMK’s candidate list has triggered fault lines in its own ranks and in Kanyakumari, those fault lines run deep.
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