Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, has won the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly bypolls, strengthening its position in two constituencies that were previously held by the AIADMK.

TVK candidate P Sathyabama won Dharapuram by 9,471 votes, securing 66,841 votes. DMK candidate S Suganya finished second with 57,370 votes, while AIADMK candidate K Banumathi polled 45,280 votes, according to reported results.

In Madurantakam, TVK candidate K Maragatham Kumaravel also secured victory, winning by a margin of 19,421 votes with 70,916 votes. The results mark an important electoral test for Vijay’s government, around five months after TVK’s breakthrough victory in the Assembly elections.

Both constituencies had been won by AIADMK candidates in the April Assembly elections. The seats fell vacant after Sathyabama and Kumaravel resigned as MLAs and joined TVK, subsequently contesting the bypolls under their new party’s banner.

TVK retains Dharapuram through Sathyabama

Sathyabama’s victory in Dharapuram gives TVK control of a constituency that she had previously won as an AIADMK candidate.

Her return to the electorate under the TVK banner made the bypoll a test of whether voters would support her after the party switch. The result saw her finish ahead of both the DMK and AIADMK candidates.

The DMK’s Suganya secured second place with 57,370 votes, while the AIADMK’s Banumathi finished third with 45,280 votes. Sathyabama’s 66,841 votes gave her a margin of 9,471 over the DMK candidate.

The outcome gives TVK a victory in a constituency where the contest involved the ruling party, the DMK and the AIADMK, alongside other political parties.

Maragatham Kumaravel wins Madurantakam

TVK also secured Madurantakam through Maragatham Kumaravel, who had represented the constituency as an AIADMK legislator before resigning and joining Vijay’s party.

Kumaravel received 70,916 votes, winning by 19,421 votes, according to the reported final result. The margin was substantially larger than TVK’s winning margin in Dharapuram.

The result was significant because the bypoll was triggered by the resignation of the sitting AIADMK MLA, who then sought a fresh mandate under TVK. The victory allows Kumaravel to return to the Assembly as a representative of her new party.

For TVK, winning both seats means that the party has converted the two vacancies created by the defections into electoral victories.

Why the bypolls mattered for Vijay

The two bypolls were closely watched because they offered an early test of TVK’s standing after the party formed the government in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay’s campaign in the constituencies raised the political stakes, with the party seeking to demonstrate that its support extended beyond the Assembly election that brought it to power.

The contests also tested whether voters would endorse candidates who had switched parties after winning their seats under the AIADMK banner. By securing victories in both constituencies, TVK has retained the seats through the same candidates, now representing a different political party.

However, bypoll results reflect the preferences of voters in the constituencies concerned. They do not, by themselves, establish how voters across the entire state view the government or predict the outcome of a future Assembly election.

AIADMK loses two seats it had won in April

For the AIADMK, the bypolls were an opportunity to reclaim two constituencies it had won in the April Assembly election.

The party fielded candidates against the former MLAs who had resigned and joined TVK. In Dharapuram, Banumathi finished third behind Sathyabama and the DMK’s Suganya. In Madurantakam, the AIADMK candidate also failed to regain the seat, with Kumaravel winning for TVK.

The results leave the AIADMK without the two constituencies it had won just months earlier. They also bring renewed attention to the electoral consequences of legislators switching parties after an Assembly election.

The outcome is a setback for the AIADMK in these two constituencies, although the wider implications for its state-level position will depend on subsequent political developments and electoral contests.

DMK finishes second in both constituencies

The DMK candidates finished second in both bypolls, with Suganya securing 57,370 votes in Dharapuram and the party’s I Paranthamen contesting against Kumaravel in Madurantakam.

The results gave the DMK a substantial vote total in both constituencies, but not enough to defeat the TVK candidates.

For the opposition party, the bypolls offered an opportunity to challenge the ruling TVK and the AIADMK in constituencies affected by party defections. Its candidates’ second-place finishes mean the party did not secure either seat.

The results will also be examined in the context of the DMK’s broader efforts to maintain its support base as Tamil Nadu’s political landscape changes following TVK’s rise.

Bypolls held on October 6

Polling in Dharapuram and Madurantakam took place on October 6, with counting held on October 9. Both constituencies had been at the centre of attention because the bypolls followed the resignations of the AIADMK MLAs who subsequently joined TVK.

The contests involved TVK, AIADMK, DMK and other parties, making them multi-cornered electoral battles. The results have now given TVK victories in both seats, with Sathyabama winning Dharapuram by 9,471 votes and Kumaravel winning Madurantakam by 19,421 votes.

The victories provide Vijay’s party with electoral confirmation in the two constituencies following the candidates’ change of political affiliation.

What the results mean for Tamil Nadu politics

TVK’s wins in Dharapuram and Madurantakam give the ruling party victories in two seats that became vacant after its candidates left the AIADMK. The results also underline the importance of bypolls as tests of voter response to changes in party allegiance.

For Vijay, the outcome provides a positive result in the first electoral test following his party’s rise to power. For the AIADMK, the loss of both seats means it has not reclaimed the constituencies it previously held. The DMK, meanwhile, finished second in both contests.

The results will form part of the political assessment of TVK’s early period in government. Their significance beyond the two constituencies, however, will depend on how the parties perform in future elections and how voter preferences evolve across Tamil Nadu.