The campaign for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections has reached a feverish pitch. One of the highlights of the polls is the battle for Madurai central constituency, where DMK’s PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan and AIADMK-backed Sundar C are contesting. The back and forth between the duo has made for some compelling political exchanges.
A few days ago, PTR derogated Sundar C by calling him ‘Cinema Sanghi’, ‘koothadi’ etc denoting his film background. He even called Sundar C, an ‘outsider’, a ‘cinemakaaran’, and kept beating his chest proudly calling himself a ‘Maduraikaaran’.
However, on 19 April 2026, PTR had to bring in radical leftist and DMK supporter actor Prakash Raj – a Tuluva by origin.
Responding to this, Sundar C spoke to mediapersons and called out PTR’s hypocrisy in his characteristically satirical manner.
He said, “Here is a wonderful irony: the person who called me ‘cinema fellow,’ ‘cinema sanghi,’ and so on, that very person now needs a film personality to come and campaign for him. And he calls others ‘outsiders’, yet he has imported someone from another state. What a thing! Why did friend Mr. Prakash Raj have to come? I would say it is because the party leadership itself has abandoned this candidate. Because their future leader, the respected Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin, came to Madurai and campaigned in every constituency except Madurai Central. So you can all understand exactly how much influence this candidate has even within his own party. In such a situation, a person who has done nothing for ten years is now sitting here saying ‘if I win the election, I will do this, I will do that.’ Someone who has no influence even within his own party, what good can he possibly do for Madurai Central tomorrow?”
When asked about DMDK chief Premalatha and her campaigning that seem to be beneficial to the NDA rather than the DMK alliance, he said, “Actually, I genuinely believe that Anniyar (a candidate/public figure), though nominally inside the DMK alliance, is actually helping the AIADMK alliance because she herself said what we needed to say. She had the courage to sit on the same stage as the Chief Minister and say that sexual violence against women and a ganja culture are spreading in Tamil Nadu. I see Anniyar as that courageous, brave woman. And if you walk around Madurai Central constituency, you’ll see it yourself, not a single streetlight is working in any lane. How can women be safe in those conditions? And the use of ganja here is extreme. So, I have made promises to everyone: With God’s grace, with the blessings of the people of Madurai Central, if I win, within three months of winning, every lane and street in Madurai Central will have streetlights installed. CCTV cameras will be installed everywhere. Every street and lane will be under 24-hour police surveillance. When that is done, no injustice or violence against women will go unchecked. This is the kind of basic thing the sitting MLA has not done for this constituency.”
When asked about PTR’s image that might work against him, Sundar C said, “That personal image is now all torn up. He calls himself educated and intelligent, and you’ve all seen what he said about me. He speaks in singular, everyone is watching. People don’t vote for image alone. They look at what good you have done for them. He won the last two elections. But look at the state of the constituency after those wins. What name has this constituency earned? It has been called ‘India’s premier garbage city.’ People are watching all of this. The era of voting based on image alone or family background is over. They did it twice, that’s how it went. He calls himself so educated and intelligent, okay. In the last five years, the Tamil Nadu government has borrowed ₹5.5 lakh crore in debt. This man was Finance Minister for two years. If he was so efficient, why did the Chief Minister remove him from that post? Did they give any reason? Was it his inefficiency? Then in the party post, he was IT Wing Secretary. That post was also taken away and given not to his senior but to his junior. So both in government and in party, his efficiency did not satisfy the Chief Minister. A student who doesn’t study is the one who gets failed. How do you fail a student who studies? That is the question I am asking.”
Bro Casually destroying PTR image 😂pic.twitter.com/t67xGCT3b4
— Stand With Savukku (@Karthickrames1) April 19, 2026
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