All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary and former chief minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami, is leading in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections from his home constituency of Edappadi in Salem district.
Palaniswami secured 1,38,330 votes, commanding a margin of 90,278 votes, while Independent candidate Premkumar K trailed with 48,052 votes.
Leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state, Palaniswami is positioned as the primary challenger to the ruling DMK, running on a platform to "save Tamil Nadu" from what he describes as anarchic and hereditary rule.
Palaniswami’s campaign centres on a "dual engine" governance model through a strategic alliance with the BJP, PMK, and AMMK.
He has hit back at deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s "slave" remarks, asserting that AIADMK cadres are proud followers of party founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) and are subservient to no one.
