Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 | Key battles to watch out for: Sowmiya Anbumani's presence spices up the battle in Dharmapuri

With PMK chief R Anbumani’s wife Sowmiya plunging into the electoral battle, the contest has become more intense this time.

Dharmapuri Assembly constituency is located within the Vanniyar heartland in northern Tamil Nadu.

Candidates from DMK, AIADMK, and PMK have won from this constituency in the past but this time the contest has become very intense. The reason is the candidacy of PMK chief R Anbumani’s wife Sowmiya from this seat. Her candidacy comes at a time when the PMK is split over differences between Anbumani and his father Ramadoss. In the 2021 elections, PMK’s S P Venkateshwaran won the seat by a margin of 26,860 votes.

Candidate's profile:  

PMK: Sowmiya Anbumani has long worked for her husband and the party from the sidelines. She continues to be the head of Pasumai Thayagam, an environmental NGO founded by her father-in-law S Ramadoss, since 2005. 

Sowmiya shot into political prominence when she was named as the PMK candidate for the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha seat in 2024 in the Vanniyar heartland. Despite massive efforts, Sowmiya lost the seat by 21,300 votes to DMK’s A Mani in an intense three-cornered contest and will now contest from Dharmapuri assembly constituency. 

DMDK: V Elangovan is a senior leader of the DMDK and has held several positions within the party. He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Tiruchirapalli and lost.

TVK: M Sivan is the secretary of TVK’s Dharmapuri (west) district and has been working on the ground for the past two years.