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SHAH ALAM – Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Nadarajah Sellappa won the Gadek state seat with a majority of 3,514 votes in the 16th Melaka state election on Nov 14.
Nadarajah secured 6,472 votes, defeating his closest rival, Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Jegan K, who received 2,958 votes.
Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) candidate Laila Norinda Maon came third with 1,317 votes, while Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) candidate Laveen Bala received 287 votes.
The victory allows BN to retain the seat after winning it in the previous state election in 2021 through Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) candidate VP Shanmugam, who secured 3,022 votes with a majority of 559.
Gadek had previously been won by PH in the 2018 state election, when DAP's Saminathan Ganesan defeated BN's Panirchelvam Pichamuthu by 307 votes.
Nadarajah was fielded as BN's candidate for the 2026 polls for the first time, replacing the incumbent Shanmugam, who was not renominated.
Despite being a first-time election candidate, Nadarajah had more than 20 years of involvement in community service in Gadek, where he had helped residents through various local activities.
He also served as MIC Melaka deputy chairman, with his campaign highlighting his experience engaging with residents and understanding their concerns.
The Gadek contest saw a four-cornered fight involving candidates from BN, PH, Putra and Bersama.
