Published Oct 06, 2026 | 2:29 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 06, 2026 | 2:50 PM
Polling will end at 6 pm.
Synopsis: The bypolls in Tamil Nadu were necessitated after sitting MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P Sathyabhama of Dharapuram resigned from the AIADMK and joined the TVK. Both are contesting as TVK candidates.
More than 55 per cent of voters in Maduranthakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu cast their votes in the by-elections by 1 pm on Tuesday, 6 October.
In Maduranthakam, 56.09% of the total electorate turned up at polling booths across the constituency by 1 pm, while Dharapuram recorded 55.19% voter turnout.
Polling in the two Tamil Nadu constituencies began at 7 am, along with three other Assembly segments in Puducherry and West Bengal. A bypoll is also being held in Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency.
Barring Nagaon, polling will end at 6 pm. Polling will end at 5 pm in Nagaon. In West Bengal, by-elections are being conducted in the prestigious Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies.
The bypolls in Tamil Nadu were necessitated after sitting MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P Sathyabhama of Dharapuram resigned from the AIADMK and joined the TVK. Both are contesting as TVK candidates.
A polling officer was replaced after a complaint that she allegedly asked an elderly woman to vote for the Whistle symbol during the Dharapuram by-election.
The incident was reported at Polling Station No. 137 in Kolinjivadi.
Speaking to the media, the woman said she was about to vote for the Rising Sun (DMK) symbol when the polling officer asked which candidate she preferred.
When told she would vote for the Rising Sun symbol, the officer allegedly told her to press the Whistle (TVK) button.
Following the complaint, Thangamani, the polling officer, was replaced by Rajammal.
For the ruling TVK, this is its electoral test after it emerged as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections. As many as 27 candidates are in the fray in Maduranthakam, while Dharapuram has 30 candidates.
Incidentally, the CPI, which supported the TVK to form the government, has fielded its candidates. The DMK and AIADMK are also in the fray.
In Puducherry, the bypoll was necessitated in Thattanchavady after Chief Minister N Rangaswamy resigned. Ramaswamy, who had won both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in April, retained Mangalam.
Counting for the six bypolls is on Thursday, 8 October.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
