Tamil Nadu elections 2026: 5 key issues likely to dominate poll campaigns

Rising crimes against women, alleged failure in protecting poll promises, and debt crisis would dominate the 2026 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, though the state's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) banks heavily on its social welfare initiatives and investments to seek the people's mandate for a successive second term in office.

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Election to the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will be held on April 23. In the outgoing Assembly, the DMK has a strength of 133, while that of the main Opposition party, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) stands at a little over 60.

However, despite the MK Stalin-led ruling party's dominance, the upcoming elections will not be an easy battle against the Opposition National Democratic Alliance featuring the AIADMK, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and others. Here are some issues that could have a decisive say in these elections.

Women's safety

Recent disturbing incidents involving schoolgirls in Tamil Nadu have triggered outrage and a political debate over women’s safety in the state. Opposition leaders say the crime incidents are rising, while the state government insists crime is declining based on official data.

Corruption

Corruption allegations have become a central theme in the run-up to the Assembly elections. Opposition parties, including the AIADMK, BJP, and the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), have intensified their attacks on the ruling DMK, alleging systemic and "scientific" corruption across various departments.

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The AIADMK had submitted a memorandum to the governor in early this year alleging cumulative corruption of nearly Rs 4 lakh crore across 20 departments since 2021.

Social welfare schemes

The parties — DMK, AIADMK and the TVK — have lavishly showered freebie promises to the voters, especially women. While the DMK announced to double the monthly entitlement to Rs 2,000 to women heads of family ration cardholders, the AIADMK also assured to provide Rs 2,000 every month if the party was voted to power.

Unfulfilled poll promises

The ruling DMK claimed that it has fulfilled about 364 of its 505 poll promises from 2021, while Opposition parties dispute the claim, alleging that only 10-30 per cent has been implemented.

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Key promises that remain unfulfilled include scrapping the NEET, restoring the Old Pension Scheme, waiving education loans, filling two lakh government vacancies, and introducing monthly electricity billing.

Debt crisis

The AIADMK has accused the ruling party of driving the state into a "debt trap," noting that debt has nearly doubled from Rs 4.85 lakh crore in 2021 to over Rs 10 lakh crore in 2026. Meanwhile, Stalin alleged that withholding of funds and a decline in Tamil Nadu's share of central tax devolution from 7.9 per cent to 4.07 per cent, which the DMK claims caused a loss of Rs 3.17 lakh crore.

(With agency inputs)