V. Sampathkumar

V. Sampathkumar, 47, is a post-graduate and dairy business owner (Sri Kamathenu Dairy, Ganapathy, Coimbatore) contesting from Coimbatore North on a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) ticket in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. A political veteran with a history of party switches, Sampathkumar began his career with the AIADMK where he served as Deputy Propaganda Secretary. He briefly left AIADMK during internal turmoil in January 2017, rejoined, then moved to Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam (AMMK) for 2017-2018, supported DMK in 2019 and 2024 elections, before finally joining TVK in December 2025 as Party Campaign Secretary. His most notable electoral success came in the 2019 by-election from Harur constituency as an AIADMK candidate, where he won with 99,061 votes (50.46%), defeating the CPI(M) candidate by a margin of 30,362 votes. He now faces a tough triangular contest in Coimbatore North against BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan (National President of BJP Mahila Morcha) and DMK's Senthamil Selvan. The constituency, historically an AIADMK stronghold where the party won by just 4,001 votes in 2021, has become increasingly competitive, with the 2024 Lok Sabha results showing DMK at 40.76%, BJP at 35.83%, and AIADMK dropping to 14.6%. Sampathkumar has declared assets worth ₹3.44 crore and two criminal cases involving unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, and mischief charges. His new party TVK, founded by actor Vijay, has released an ambitious manifesto promising ₹2,500 monthly aid for housewives, ₹4,000 for unemployed graduates, free electricity (200 units), six free LPG cylinders annually, and AI-driven governance. However, the party faces serious credibility challenges following a September 2025 stampede at a TVK rally in Karur that killed 41 people, with three party leaders facing FIRs for mismanagement. Campaign reports indicate organizational weaknesses, with TVK cadres in Coimbatore reportedly unable to recognize their own candidate. Voters in Coimbatore North should weigh Sampathkumar's prior electoral success and business background against his pattern of frequent party switches, the organizational challenges facing the first-time electoral party TVK, and whether the party's welfare promises are credible given its lack of governance experience. His modest criminal record involves minor charges, but the party he represents is under scrutiny for the Karur tragedy that claimed dozens of lives.