TVK maintains lead in Tamil Nadu bypolls; AINRC wins Thattanchavady in Puducherry
Tamil Nadu's ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) maintained its lead in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls on Friday, while the ruling AINRC in neighbouring Puducherry retained the Thattanchavady seat with a victory margin of 8,482 votes.
In Tamil Nadu, TVK candidates Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama remained ahead as counting progressed, strengthening the party's position in the two constituencies. Party workers celebrated the trends by bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets.
Kumaravel held a consistent lead in Madurantakam, where DMK candidate I Paranthamen was in second place and AIADMK nominee S Kanitha Sampath in third. Kumaravel's margin had crossed 6,000 votes by the fifth round and continued to widen.
In Dharapuram, Sathyabama recovered after initially trailing AIADMK candidate K Banumathi and moved ahead by more than 5,400 votes. DMK nominee S Suganya subsequently moved into second place, pushing the AIADMK candidate to third.
Candidates of the Left parties, contesting independently in both constituencies, had secured fewer than 1,000 votes each after six rounds of counting.
The outcome could strengthen TVK, which leads a minority government in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, ahead of expected bypolls in five more constituencies. The party has 107 MLAs, including the Speaker, and depends on the support of allies, including the Congress, as well as outside backing from the Left parties.
The Assembly's effective strength is 227, with 118 seats required for a simple majority. The vacancies followed the resignation of legislators, including Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who retained Perambur and gave up Tiruchirappalli (East).
The emerging trends also point to a possible triangular contest in Tamil Nadu politics, with Vijay's TVK and its allies facing the DMK and AIADMK, which lead separate political fronts.
Madurantakam recorded a voter turnout of 86.26 per cent, while 80.30 per cent of electors voted in Dharapuram on October 6.
Madurantakam had 27 candidates in the fray, while Dharapuram had 22. Both constituencies are reserved seats. The Election Commission announced the bypolls while petitions concerning the resignation of MLAs and related matters were pending before the Madras High Court.
In Puducherry, AINRC candidate Ashok Anand won the Thattanchavady bypoll, defeating his nearest rival, Congress nominee E Vinayagam, by 8,482 votes.
Anand secured 13,358 votes, while Vinayagam polled 4,876. DMK candidate K Sethu, also known as Sethuselvam, finished third with 2,664 votes, according to the Election Commission.
The bypoll was necessitated after Chief Minister N Rangasamy resigned from Thattanchavady, which he had won in the April 9 Assembly elections, after also securing the Mangalam seat.
Thattanchavady is regarded as a stronghold of Rangasamy, the founder of AINRC. The result marks the ruling party's first electoral test since assuming office earlier this year.
