Chennai: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-turned-politician and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, won the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly bypolls, while the ruling All India N.R. Congress (AINRC) retained the Thattanchavady seat in neighbouring Puducherry.
The results, declared on Friday, gave TVK victories in 2 constituencies in its first bypoll test since coming to power. However, the results in the 2 seats alone do not establish a statewide shift away from the Dravidian parties.
In Tamil Nadu, TVK candidates P Sathyabama and K Maragatham Kumaravel won Dharapuram and Madurantakam, respectively. In Puducherry, AINRC nominee Ashok Anand defeated Congress candidate E Vinayagam by 8,482 votes.
TVK wins both Tamil Nadu seats
In Dharapuram, Sathyabama won by a margin of 9,471 votes, polling 66,841 votes. DMK candidate S Suganya finished second, according to election coverage.
In Madurantakam, Maragatham Kumaravel secured 74,048 votes to defeat DMK candidate I Paranthamen by 20,040 votes. AIADMK candidate S Kanitha Sampath finished third.
The results followed competitive contests in both constituencies. In Dharapuram, Sathyabama had trailed AIADMK candidate K Banumathi during an early stage of counting before gaining ground in subsequent rounds.
TVK supporters celebrated the victories by bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets.
The bypolls were held after vacancies arose following the resignation of legislators, including Vijay, who won from 2 constituencies in the Assembly election and retained Perambur while vacating Tiruchirappalli (East).
What the results mean for Vijay’s government
The victories provide a boost to TVK as it faces the task of sustaining its legislative position and preparing for further bypolls.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly has a majority mark of 118. The party’s position in the House and its dependence on supporting parties are important factors in assessing the government’s legislative strength.
The bypoll outcomes, however, should be read in the context of the individual constituencies and the candidates who contested them. They do not, by themselves, establish that the state’s long-standing Dravidian political tradition has ended.
AINRC retains Thattanchavady in Puducherry
In Puducherry, AINRC candidate Ashok Anand won the Thattanchavady bypoll, securing 13,358 votes. His nearest rival, Congress candidate E Vinayagam, polled 4,876 votes, while DMK candidate K Sethu alias Sethuselvam received 2,664 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.
Anand won by a margin of 8,482 votes after 4 rounds of counting.
The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister N Rangasamy resigned from Thattanchavady, having won the seat as well as Mangalam in the April Assembly election and chosen to retain Mangalam.
Thattanchavady has long been associated with Rangasamy, the founder of AINRC. The victory allows the ruling party to retain the constituency.
The result also gives AINRC a win in its first bypoll test since forming the government. Congress finished second, with the DMK in third place.
