TVK registered decisive victories in the Dharapuram and Maduranthakam Assembly by-elections, pushing the party’s MLA count up to 109. In both constituencies, DMK retained its vote base to finish second, while AIADMK—described as having won big in these seats in the last general election—suffered a major setback.
The bypolls followed a chain of resignations and realignments after the recent Assembly election. TVK had won 108 seats in the general election but later saw its strength dip after Chief Minister Vijay, who had won from Tiruchirappalli East and Perambur, resigned the Tiruchirappalli East seat.
Subsequently, several AIADMK MLAs—including Maragatham Kumaravel (Maduranthakam) and Sathyabama (Dharapuram)—resigned and joined TVK, leading the Assembly Secretariat to declare seven seats vacant. The Election Commission announced by-elections for Dharapuram and Maduranthakam in September, while polls for the remaining vacancies were not notified due to election-related litigation.
TVK fielded Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama again, with support from Congress, VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League, while the Communist parties chose to contest separately. Campaigning was intense, with Chief Minister Vijay undertaking four days of outreach across dozens of villages in each constituency; DMK leaders M.K. Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin, and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami also campaigned.
Polling was held peacefully on October 6, with turnout reported at 80.3% in Dharapuram and 86.2% in Maduranthakam. In the final count, Sathyabama won Dharapuram with 66,841 votes, defeating DMK’s Suganya by 9,471 votes, while Maragatham Kumaravel won Maduranthakam with 70,916 votes, beating DMK’s Parandhaman by 20,040 votes.
