Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Stalin Challenges Kolathur Result, Seeks Full VVPAT Verification
M K Stalin lost an election in Kolathur by 8,795 votes.
He says some voting machines and paper-trail machines had problems when they were checked later.
Only 14 of the constituency's 286 polling stations were inspected.
Stalin says problems were found at five of those stations.
He wants every paper voting record counted and all the machines checked.
He also wants the court to cancel V S Babu's election and declare him the winner.
Election officials said the checking process was completed properly.
Stalin argues that officials did not explain the machine problems well enough to prove the result was reliable.
M K Stalin has moved the Madras High Court against the verification process for EVMs used in Kolathur.
He lost the Assembly election to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate V S Babu by 8,795 votes.
Stalin is seeking a 100% VVPAT slip count and verification of all 286 EVM sets.
His petition alleges malfunctions, mismatched serial numbers, seal-related issues and an undetected ballot unit at five inspected polling stations.
Election authorities certified the verification as completed, while Stalin says unanswered technical questions make the process inadequate.
- Who
- Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin, and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam candidate V S Babu.
- What
- Stalin has challenged the post-election EVM verification process and sought a full VVPAT count, verification of all 286 EVM sets, and cancellation of Babu's election.
- When
- Stalin applied for verification on May 7; the exercise began on July 29, and an alleged ballot-unit issue was recorded on August 5. The article does not specify the year.
- Where
- Kolathur Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu; the petition was filed in the Madras High Court.
- Why
- Stalin alleges that the verification uncovered machine malfunctions and procedural irregularities, while technical explanations requested by his representative were not provided.
Stalin's Petition
Election Authorities' Certification
Reliability of verification
Stalin's Petition
Stalin alleges that machine failures, mismatched identifiers, seal-related issues and an undetected ballot unit show that the limited verification was inadequate.
Election Authorities' Certification
Election authorities certified that the checking and verification had been successfully completed in accordance with prescribed procedures.
Machine replacements
Stalin's Petition
Stalin argues that replacing malfunctioning machines does not explain what happened to the specific machines under examination.
Election Authorities' Certification
The article does not report a detailed response from election authorities explaining the replacements or addressing the 18 requested clarifications.
Meaning of voting patterns
Stalin's Petition
Stalin says the differing vote shares at five affected polling stations are consistent with possible vote transfers or recording errors and justify broader verification.
Election Authorities' Certification
The petition itself acknowledges that the polling stations may simply have voted differently and does not assert that votes were actually transferred or misrecorded.
- Election margin
- V S Babu defeated M K Stalin by 8,795 votes.
- EVM sets
- The constituency used 286 EVM sets.
- Requested inspection
- Stalin initially sought verification of 14 EVM sets, representing 5% of the polling stations.
- Inspection timing
- Verification began nearly three months after Stalin's May 7 application.
- Reported issues
- The petition alleges defects or irregularities at five of the 14 inspected polling stations.
- Technical questions
- Stalin's representative sought 18 technical clarifications, which the petition says went unanswered.
- Requested remedies
- Stalin seeks a 100% VVPAT count, verification of all EVM sets, and declarations that Babu's election was void and Stalin was the returned candidate.