Karthik Mohan

Karthik Mohan, 45, is a first-time assembly election candidate from the DMK contesting the Villivakkam constituency in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. He is the son of M.K. Mohan, the current MLA representing Anna Nagar constituency in Chennai and a senior DMK leader. A postgraduate who declares his profession as 'Business,' Karthik has declared assets worth ₹346 crores with liabilities of ₹144 crores, making him one of the wealthiest candidates in this election cycle. However, no specific business ventures or companies associated with him have been identified in public domain despite this substantial wealth declaration. Karthik has been active in DMK party activities and campaigns, often supporting his father and other party leaders, though he has not held any prior elected position. He is contesting from Villivakkam, a constituency that has historically been a DMK stronghold, winning eight of the last eleven elections. The seat was most recently won by A. Vetriazhagan (DMK) in 2021 with 53.37% of votes. In the 2026 elections, Karthik faces a multi-cornered contest against AIADMK's S.R. Vijayakumar, TVK's Aadhav Arjuna (from actor Vijay's new party attempting to attract younger voters), and NTK's transgender candidate Roshini. During his campaign, Karthik has conducted extensive door-to-door outreach in areas like Agathiyar Nagar, emphasizing the DMK government's welfare schemes including financial assistance for women. He has predicted the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance will win over 200 seats out of 234 in the assembly. He has also criticized the BJP's handling of the Women's Reservation Bill and defended the DMK's stance on delimitation issues. While Karthik himself has not been personally implicated in any controversies, the DMK government has faced broader corruption allegations including an Rs 888-crore cash-for-jobs scam, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing DMK leaders of holding a "master's degree in corruption." Voters in Villivakkam should know that while Karthik comes from an established political family with strong party backing in a traditional DMK stronghold, he is a political newcomer with no proven track record of public service or legislative work. His exceptionally high declared wealth with undocumented business background, combined with the emergence of multi-cornered competition including TVK's youth appeal, makes this election a test of both dynastic succession and the DMK's continued dominance in urban Chennai constituencies amid local concerns about women's safety, infrastructure, and traffic congestion.