Interesting battle on the cards in Madurai Central constituency

In the upcoming 2026 Assembly election for Madurai Central, incumbent MLA Palanivel Thiaga Rajan of the DMK faces competition from actor and director Sundar. C, who is running on the AIADMK's 'Two leaves' symbol. Other candidates include K. Abdul Hakeem (Naam Tamilar Katchi), Madhar Badhurudeen (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam), and P. Sakkaravarthy (All India Puratchi Thalaivar Makkal Munnettra Kazhagam). Rajan, who has won the seat in 2016 and 2021, is seeking a third consecutive victory. The constituency faces issues such as traffic congestion, parking woes, lack of civic infrastructure, and poor maintenance of public spaces like Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple and Thathaneri cremation grounds.