Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Tamil Nadu Bypolls Test Vijay’s Strategy of Attracting Defectors
Voters in two Tamil Nadu areas were choosing new representatives after their earlier representatives changed parties.
Those representatives had won for the AIADMK and then joined Vijay’s TVK.
Early counting showed TVK ahead in both places, but the race in Dharapuram was very close.
TVK was more comfortably ahead in Madurantakam at that stage.
The DMK was also contesting both seats.
Vijay campaigned in both areas before the vote.
The results may show whether voters support the representatives themselves or the party they belonged to before.
They may also affect whether more AIADMK legislators decide to join TVK.
The counting had not produced a final result when the article was written.
Early counting showed TVK leading in Madurantakam and moving ahead in Dharapuram, where the AIADMK had briefly led.
In Dharapuram, early margins were narrow: AIADMK candidate K Bhanumathi led TVK’s P Sathyabama by five votes in one tally and 66 in a later count.
TVK’s Maragatham Kumaravel remained ahead in Madurantakam, with the DMK and AIADMK competing for second place in early trends.
Both TVK candidates had won these seats for the AIADMK in April, then resigned and joined TVK, prompting the by-elections.
The results could influence whether other AIADMK legislators consider joining TVK; final outcomes were not yet known in the article.
- Who
- TVK, AIADMK and DMK candidates, including former AIADMK legislators now contesting for TVK.
- What
- By-elections in two Assembly constituencies tested whether voters would re-elect legislators who switched from AIADMK to TVK.
- When
- Votes were being counted on Friday morning; the article said neither constituency had delivered a verdict by 10am.
- Where
- Dharapuram and Madurantakam, Tamil Nadu.
- Why
- The by-elections followed the resignations of two AIADMK legislators who joined TVK, and the results could affect further defections.
TVK’s interpretation
AIADMK’s interpretation
What a TVK win would mean
TVK’s interpretation
Re-election of the former AIADMK legislators under TVK would support Vijay’s argument that voters’ loyalties are shifting towards his party.
AIADMK’s interpretation
A close contest, even if TVK wins, could encourage the AIADMK by showing that its voters have not automatically followed departing legislators.
Whether defectors carry their seats
TVK’s interpretation
TVK’s leads in early counting suggest the party may be able to win support in constituencies represented by former AIADMK legislators.
AIADMK’s interpretation
The narrow Dharapuram margins and the AIADMK’s early lead suggest that joining the ruling party does not necessarily bring a constituency’s voters along.
- Constituencies
- Dharapuram and Madurantakam
- Dharapuram TVK candidate
- P Sathyabama
- Dharapuram AIADMK candidate
- K Bhanumathi
- Madurantakam TVK candidate
- Maragatham Kumaravel
- Madurantakam DMK candidate
- E Paranthaman
- Campaigning
- Vijay spent four days campaigning in the two constituencies with rallies and roadshows.
- Counting status
- Early trends showed TVK ahead in both seats, but no final result was available by 10am.