CHENNAI: Chennai's 16 Assembly constituencies collectively see more candidates in 2026 than in 2021. Perambur goes into the election with 47 contesting candidates, more than double its 2021 count of 22. Saidapet, at the other end, has halved from 30 candidates to 15.
Across the 16 constituencies, 419 candidates will contest, against 393 five years ago. Of these, 173 nominations were rejected and 24 withdrawn, according to the data published by the Tamil Nadu Election Commission.
Nine constituencies recorded an increase in candidate count, five a decline. Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar, Egmore, and Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni saw no change from 2021.
Among constituencies that saw a rise, Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar went from 31 to 38. Villivakkam went from 23 to 28. Royapuram added two, going from 26 to 28. Anna Nagar saw a marginal rise from 23 to 24. Velachery climbed from 23 to 27. T Nagar recorded one of the more notable increases, from 14 in 2021 to 26 this year.
On the decline, Harbour dropped from 28 to 23. Thousand Lights fell from 20 to 18. Mylapore went from 23 to 19. Virugambakkam slipped from 27 to 24. Kolathur, where Chief Minister MK Stalin contests, fell marginally from 36 to 35.
Virugambakkam recorded the highest at 18, followed by Chepauk-Triplicane and Anna Nagar at 15 each. Perambur, despite its high candidate count, had 17 nominations rejected. Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar saw seven rejections and Mylapore four, the lowest among the 16.
CONSTITUENCY 2021 & 2026 DIFFERENCE
Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar 31 38 +7
Perambur 22 47 +25
Kolathur 36 35 -1
Villivakkam 23 28 +5
TVK Nagar 23 23 0
Egmore 18 18 0
Royapuram 26 28 +2
Harbour 28 23 -5
Chepauk 26 26 0
Thousand Lights 20 18 -2
Anna Nagar 23 24 +1
Virugambakkam 27 24 -3
Saidapet 30 15 -15
T Nagar 14 26 +12
Mylapore 23 19 -4
Velachery 23 27 +4
Total 393 419 +26