Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin conceded defeat in the 2026 assembly elections on Tuesday and submitted his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, following the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) poor performance. The DMK-led alliance secured 74 of 234 seats, while actor-politician Vijay's newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won 108 seats, emerging as the single largest party.

Stalin, who has served as chief minister since 2021 and as an MLA since 1989, lost his Kolathur seat to TVK's V.S. Babu, marking his first electoral defeat in 35 years. In a post on X, Stalin said the DMK had been in power six times and had faced both victory and defeat, adding that the party's ideology remained intact regardless of electoral outcomes. He emphasized that the alliance received 1.54 crore votes, with only a 3.52% vote-share difference between the DMK and TVK alliances.

Stalin claimed the people's trust in the DMK remained strong and pledged that the party would function as a robust opposition, advocating for public demands. He vowed the party would return to power in the future. The Governor is expected to invite the TVK to form the government, with formal proceedings on government formation to be announced shortly.