2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

Elections to appoint the 234 members of the 17th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the highest body of the Government of Tamil Nadu, were held on 23 April 2026. The results were declared on 4 May 2026 by the Election Commission of India. It recorded the highest voter turnout in the state's history (85.1%). The new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), founded by Tamil actor C. Joseph Vijay, won in its first-ever election and ended a 59-year streak of dominance of Dravidian parties in the state.

The TVK contested alone in 233 constituencies. It positioned itself as a rival to the oscillating duopoly of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), and an ideological opponent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party of the Government of India. The incumbent DMK led the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which was part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance led by the Lok Sabha opposition, the Indian National Congress (INC); the SPA swept all the 39 seats in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The opposition AIADMK was part of the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Opinion poll agencies projected a second consecutive term for the DMK or a return to power for the AIADMK. In an upset result, the TVK emerged as the single largest party above the DMK and AIADMK, amassing 108 seats but short of majority (118). The SPA was reduced to 73 seats, with the DMK securing 59 and the INC five. The NDA won 53 seats, with the AIADMK securing 47 and the BJP only one. This created Tamil Nadu's first hung assembly. The AIADMK lost its official opposition status to the DMK.