Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay, has won the Dharapuram Assembly bypoll and is leading in Madurantakam as of round 21/27 of counting. TVK candidate P Sathyabama was declared winner from the Dharapuram SC Assembly constituency after securing 66,841 votes, defeating DMK’s Suganya, who polled 57,370 votes, by 9,471 votes.
Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M K Stalin on Friday described the bypolls as a “blatant murder of democracy” in a social media post, calling TVK’s gains an “interim victory for betrayal” and claiming that the “downfall of fake image politics” had begun.
Vijay’s remarks came amid a controversy over comments made by Stalin during the Dharapuram bypoll campaign.
Vijay targeted the DMK over remarks aimed at women, saying the electoral victory was a vote against “defamatory speech targeting women”. Stalin had referred to TVK candidate P Sathyabama as “Petti Bama” (suitcase Bama).
