R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, OCT 9
Tamil Nadu’s two Assembly by-election results have delivered a double victory for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), strengthening the ruling party’s legislative position while intensifying its confrontation with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Yet, while Vijay has presented the verdict as a public rebuff to his critics, DMK president M.K. Stalin has dismissed it as a temporary triumph for political betrayal, underscoring the sharply divergent readings of the electorate’s message.
- Maragatham Kumaravel wins Madurantakam by 20,040 votes; P. Sathyabama captures Dharapuram by 9,471
- DMK finishes second in both constituencies as AIADMK slips to third
- Vijay calls victories a rejection of money-driven politics and attacks on women
- Stalin brands outcome a “temporary victory for betrayal” and questions why the bypolls were necessitated
- TVK’s Assembly tally rises to 109, but remains below the 118-seat majority mark
TVK’s K. Maragatham Kumaravel won the Madurantakam by-election by 20,040 votes, polling 74,048 against the DMK’s I. Paranthamen, who secured 54,008. The AIADMK’s S. Kanithasampath finished third with 47,450 votes.
In Dharapuram, TVK candidate P. Sathyabama defeated DMK nominee S. Suganya by 9,471 votes. Sathyabama polled 66,841 votes, while Suganya secured 57,370. The AIADMK’s K. Banumathi finished third with 45,280 votes.
The twin victories return two constituencies to the political camp of the MLAs who had won them on AIADMK tickets in the April 2026 Assembly election, subsequently resigned and joined TVK. The resulting bypolls, held on October 6, became an early electoral test for Vijay’s government and an opportunity for the opposition to challenge its political standing.
Vijay: ‘This is a victory for the people’
Reacting to the results, Vijay thanked voters and party workers, portraying the victories as a rejection of money-driven politics, personal attacks and derogatory remarks against women.
“This victory belongs neither to me, Vijay, as an individual, nor solely to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam,” he said in his response, asserting that the outcome belonged to the people and the democratic process.
Vijay also claimed that TVK had won without paying voters or resorting to what he described as established money-driven electoral formulas. He linked the verdict to the controversy over campaign remarks concerning Sathyabama and accused his critics of underestimating the party’s electoral appeal.
His message sought to frame the results as more than two constituency victories—as evidence, in the ruling party’s interpretation, that its political appeal had survived a combative campaign.
Stalin: ‘Temporary victory for betrayal’
Stalin offered a sharply contrasting assessment, describing the outcome as a “temporary victory for betrayal” and declaring that the decline of “politics built on false images” had begun.
The DMK chief questioned the circumstances that led to the by-elections, pointing out that the two MLAs had vacated their seats soon after winning the April Assembly election and joining TVK. He characterised the development as a betrayal of the electorate’s mandate and criticised the political circumstances in which voters were asked to return to the polling booth.
Stalin also accused the ruling party of misusing its position and alleged that the election campaign had involved the use of power and resources to secure an advantage. These were the DMK leader’s allegations, which TVK has contested through its own account of the verdict.
The DMK’s second-place finishes in both seats mean it failed to convert its campaign into a bypoll victory. Nevertheless, Stalin’s response indicated that the party intends to make the circumstances surrounding the defections and the conduct of the campaign central to its continuing political challenge.
AIADMK questions the ruling party’s role
The AIADMK, whose former legislators had triggered the vacancies by joining TVK, also criticised the circumstances of the contests. Party leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami alleged misuse of power by the ruling establishment, according to reports on the post-result reactions.
The AIADMK’s third-place finishes in both constituencies underline the immediate electoral setback for the party in seats it had won only months earlier. The results also sharpen questions about its ability to retain its traditional support base when former party candidates contest under the banner of a new ruling formation.
However, the two results alone do not establish how far the AIADMK’s wider support base has shifted. A fuller assessment will require comparisons with the April Assembly results, constituency-level voting patterns and performance in future elections.
Two wins, but the numbers still matter
The victories increase TVK’s Assembly strength from 107 to 109 seats, while the simple-majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly remains 118. The party therefore continues to depend on support from allies and other legislators to sustain its government.
The bypolls also produced contrasting levels of voter participation. Madurantakam recorded a turnout of 86.26%, while Dharapuram registered 80.30%, according to reported final figures. The strong participation in both constituencies gives the results political significance, but turnout by itself does not establish that voters were motivated by the same issues.
Local concerns—including transport and road safety in Madurantakam and water scarcity in Dharapuram—formed part of the constituency-level backdrop. The contests were also shaped by the defections, campaign rhetoric and the performance of a government only months into its tenure.
For Vijay, the immediate outcome is a boost to the ruling party’s numbers and a chance to claim that its political appeal remains intact. For Stalin, the response is to argue that the circumstances behind the bypolls matter as much as the final tally. For the AIADMK, the results raise the challenge of recovering ground in constituencies it previously held.
The verdict is unambiguous on the two seats: TVK has won both. Its wider political meaning, however, remains contested—and will be tested against the government’s performance, the opposition’s ability to regroup and the electorate’s choices in the next round of contests.