Tamil Nadu election 2026: Senguntha mudaliar community says parties failed to give them adequate representation

ERODE: Representatives of the senguntha mudaliar community on Wednesday said major political parties have failed to field a member from the community in Erode district for the April 23 Tamil Nadu assembly election. More than 500 members from the community have come forward to file nominations as independent candidates to protest what they called the neglect of the community by major parties.State vice-president of the Thenninthiya Mahajana Mudaliar Sangam C Nandhagopal said, “Our community has a strong presence in the district, particularly in Erode East constituency. Our population would be around 80,000 families. We have more than 50,000 families in Erode West, besides a notable presence in Bhavani and Perundurai.”Nandhagopal said their main complaint was that although they were the second largest community in the district, major parties did not give them an opportunity to contest. "The community needed a representative in the assembly who could strongly raise concerns of the weaving sector and issues related to the textile market," he said.There are around 80 lakh members of the community across the state. Both DMK and AIADMK gave them only two seats each across the state, which they said was a clear sign of neglect.