Chief Minister Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has won both Tamil Nadu assembly bypolls whose votes were counted on 9 October, retaining two seats it had inherited through defections. The by-elections were forced after two sitting AIADMK legislators quit their party and moved to TVK. In Madurantakam, TVK’s Maragatham Kumaravel defeated the DMK’s I. Paranthaman by a margin of roughly 19,000 to 20,000 votes, with counting briefly held up over problems with EVM control units and seals. In Dharapuram, TVK’s P. Sathyabama beat the DMK’s S.
Suganya by around 9,500 votes. The AIADMK, which had held both constituencies in the April general election, slipped to third place in each seat. The DMK kept second place but its vote tally fell compared with April, and TVK has now clearly emerged as its principal challenger. The wins lift TVK’s strength in the Assembly from 107 to 109, still short of the 118 needed for a majority on its own. Edappadi K. Palaniswami campaigned alone for the AIADMK, and the poor showing has revived questions about his leadership and could encourage further defections.
M. K. Stalin accused TVK of blackmailing voters and said the government’s welfare announcements after the polls were notified breached the model code of conduct. Congress, a TVK ally, read the verdict as public acceptance of the ruling alliance, while the Left parties lost their deposits. The results give the Vijay government a morale boost in its first electoral test since taking office.