The decisive victory of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidates in the Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram Assembly (SC) by-elections have provided chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led party more elbow room in the fragile coalition.
Vijay in his victory message mentioned all alliance partners except CPI(M) and CPI while expressing gratitude to the Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance banner— consisting Congress, VCK, IUML, and MDMK. “This is entirely a victory against slanderous speech targeted at women. It is a victory against low-level personal attacks.
It is a victory against the betrayal committed against flawless leaders and their cadre,” he said.
By-Election Results and Reactions
Earlier reporting noted: TVK sweeps Tamil Nadu bypolls: What Vijay’s double win means for DMK and AIADMK The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has won the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls in Tamil Nadu, with candidates Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama defeating their respective DMK rivals. “TVK may think it has entered the fortress of the AIADMK. DMK chief MK Stalin accused Vijay of misusing state machinery to win. “He (Vijay) drank tea, drove a tractor, picked drumsticks. No sitting CM has ever gone street to street like this for a by-election. The twin victories have strengthened the political position of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s government, with ministers describing the results as an endorsement of its performance over the past four months. The party can also point to the results as a sign of its ability to consolidate its position after coming to power. For the DMK and AIADMK, the outcome presents a setback and an opportunity to reassess their campaign strategies ahead of future electoral contests.
Even though the TVK emerged as the largest political party in the assembly elections, winning 108 of 234 seats, Vijay was able to form the government with the help of five MLAs from Congress, one each from Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and two MLAs each from CPI(M) and CPI. Kumaravel bagged 72,622 votes, defeating DMK’s I Paranthamen who bagged 52,580 votes, according to ECI ’s data. AIADMK’s S Kanitha Sampath bagged 46,215 votes. At Dharapuram, Sathyabama won by 66,841 votes, defeating DMK’s S Suganya, who bagged only 57,370 votes. AIADMK’s K Banumathi came third with 45,280 votes.
But this is only a temporary victory for them,” said party chief Edapaddi K Palaniswami. Political analyst Ramesh Sethuraman said the poll outcome iwould weaken AIADMK further. “I will not be surprised to see further exodus from AIADMK to TVK in the coming days,” he said. He operated with the mindset that his entire political career depended on winning these two constituencies,” said the former chief minister.
Earlier reporting noted: For the TVK, victories in both seats offer an opportunity to highlight voter support for Vijay’s administration. Earlier reporting noted: Although the results are limited to two constituencies, the wins give the chief minister’s government fresh political momentum.
