 In 1998, the DMK's leader Karunanidhi asked Sarathkumar to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Tirunelveli.In the election, DMK lost very badly and the alliance could muster only 9 seats compared to the 39 seats it swept in 1996.Even though DMK lost badly in many constituencies, Sarathkumar was defeated by the AIADMK candidate Kadambur R. Janarthanan by a margin of only 6904 votes.