P Chandrasekar

P Chandrasekar, 52, is contesting from Senthamangalam (ST) reserved constituency as a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidate in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. A graduate professional working as a private lawyer, he has declared assets of Rs. 56.67 lakhs with liabilities of Rs. 12 lakhs and zero criminal cases. However, he shares the same name and constituency as C. Chandrasekaran, a veteran politician with a complex political history spanning three decades and multiple party affiliations. The historical C. Chandrasekaran first won Senthamangalam in 1996 as a DMK candidate with 56.14% vote share, then contested as an independent in 2006 after being denied a DMK ticket (receiving only 1.25% votes), before joining AIADMK in 2007 and winning again in 2016 with 48.09% vote share. If these are the same person, this represents his fourth party affiliation and third comeback attempt in a constituency he has won twice before. His current party, TVK, is a newly founded regional party launched by actor Vijay in February 2024, positioning itself as a third alternative to the traditional DMK-AIADMK binary in Tamil Nadu politics. TVK has announced an ambitious welfare-focused manifesto promising monthly aid of ₹2,500 for homemakers, ₹4,000 for unemployed graduates, 200 units of free electricity, and aims to transform Tamil Nadu into a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036. However, the party is currently embroiled in serious legal controversy following the September 27, 2025 Karur rally stampede that killed 41 people and injured around 100. Tamil Nadu Police filed an FIR charging TVK organizers with culpable homicide, attempt to commit culpable homicide, and endangering lives, with the party's Karur West district secretary arrested and general secretary N. Anand implicated. Voters in Senthamangalam face a critical decision: whether to support a candidate associated with a new party making ambitious promises but facing serious questions about organizational capacity and safety management, or to consider his potential experience (if he is indeed the veteran politician) against a track record of frequent party-switching. The 2026 election will test whether TVK can overcome the Karur tragedy and establish credibility, or whether traditional parties DMK and AIADMK will retain their hold on this ST-reserved constituency.