The October 6 bypolls in Tamil Nadu are showing shifting leads as AIADMK gains ground in Dharapuram while TVK maintains the lead in Madurantakam. The results are significant for all major parties involved.
Counting Progress in Tamil Nadu Bypolls
As the counting of votes progressed on Friday, AIADMK rose from trailing to taking the lead in Dharapuram. AIADMK candidate K Bhanumathi secured 8,244 votes, surpassing TVK’s P Sathyabama who had 7,434 votes. DMK’s S Sunganya trailed with 6,158 votes according to the latest Election Commission update.
In Madurantakam, TVK’s Maragatham Kumaravel maintained the lead with AIADMK’s Kanitha Sampath in second place and DMK’s I Paranthaman in third. Counting was briefly interrupted during the second round due to technical issues but later resumed.
Situation in Puducherry
Meanwhile, in Puducherry’s Thattanchavady segment, ruling AINRC candidate Ashok Anand led the count with 6,950 votes at the end of two rounds. Congress’ E Vinayagam and DMK’s K Sethu Selvam lagged behind with 2,392 and 1,534 votes respectively. The contest here is mainly among AINRC-led NDA, Congress, and DMK.
Political Significance and Contestants
The bypolls arose after the resignation of sitting MLAs including Rangasamy. In Madurantakam, 27 candidates are contesting, with main contenders from TVK, DMK, AIADMK, CPI (M), and NTK. Dharapuram has 22 nominees, among them TVK’s P Sathyabama, DMK’s S Suganya, AIADMK’s K Bhanumathi, CPI’s P Lakshmanan, and NTK’s M Karthika.
These elections mark TVK’s first test after forming the government in May. Winning seats is crucial for the Vijay-led TVK regime to approach the majority mark in the assembly. For the DMK, this is the first election contested without former allies such as Congress and Left parties.
Alliances and Opposition Dynamics
Originally, TVK formed government with support from Congress, VCK, IUML, and outside backing from Left parties, who later turned critical and fielded candidates independently. CPI and CPI (M), despite supporting TVK from outside, have been critical of its governance, raising concerns about the regime’s stability.
AIADMK faces intense pressure to regain electoral strength after ruling Tamil Nadu for over three decades but losing seats due to resignations. Currently, Tamil Nadu’s assembly has seven vacancies due to resignations from various MLAs including members from AIADMK and TVK.
Current Assembly Composition
As it stands, TVK holds 107 seats, DMK 59, AIADMK 41, Congress 5, PMK 4, CPI and CPI (M) 2 each, VCK 2, IUML 2, and BJP, DMDK, AMMK one each. The effective assembly strength is currently 227 members due to vacancies.
