Published Oct 09, 2026 | 10:09 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2026 | 2:19 PM
Resignation of MLAs necessitated the by-elections.
Counting is underway in the Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu on Friday, 9 October.
The TVK is racing ahead in both Dharapuram and Madurantakam, two seats held by the AIADMK.
TVK’s P Sathyabama has a leading margin of 8,863 votes over her nearest rival, S Suganya of the DMK after 17 rounds in Dharapuram. Sathyabama has won 51,253 votes so far, while Suganya has secured 42,390 votes. AIADMK’s K Bhanumathi trails with 32,892 votes. Six more counting rounds are pending in Dharapuram.
In Madurantakam, nine of 21 rounds are complete. TVK’s K Maragatham Kumaravel leads I Paranthamen by 11,691 votes. Kumaravel has won 34,894 votes, while Paranthamen has 23,203. AIADMK candidate S Kanitha Sampath is in third place with 19,554 votes.
The by-elections are being closely watched as an early electoral test for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s TVK government, which came to power in May. Madurantakam recorded a voter turnout of 86.26%, while Dharapuram registered 80.30%.
The by-elections were necessitated after AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama resigned from their Assembly seats on May 25 and joined TVK.
Ashok Anand.
Both had won their respective constituencies for the AIADMK in the 2026 Assembly election, but their resignations made fresh elections necessary. By contesting the seats under its own banner, TVK seeks to consolidate its position, while the DMK and AIADMK try to win them.
In Puducherry, All India NR Congress (AINRC) candidate Ashok Anand won the Thattanchavady bypoll by 8,492 votes. He secured 13,358 votes, while Congress candidate E. Vinayagam finished second with 4,876 votes. DMK candidate K. Sethu Selvam came third with 2,664 votes.
Interestingly, Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate S. Karthikumari secured only 172 votes, fewer than NOTA, which received 225 votes.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
