Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay ‘s party TVK registered a win in the Dharapuram bypoll as its candidate, P Sathyabama, won by 9,471 votes. Sathyabama secured 66,841 votes, defeating DMK ‘s Suganya, who received 57,370 votes.
In Madurantakam, TVK candidate Maragatham Kumaravel won the seat by over 20,000 votes. DMK’s I Paranthamen polled 54008 votes, while AIADMK candidate S Kanitha Sampath came third with 47450 votes. Maragatham secured 74048 votes to win the seat.
However, she subsequently established a clear lead and won. Earlier reporting noted: TVK’s P Sathyabama wins Dharapuram byelection; Vijay party’s Maragatham Kumaravel extends her lead in Madurantakam TVK candidate P Sathyabama with party president and Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay Earlier reporting noted: The bypoll was necessitated after Sathyabama, who had won Dharapuram seat as an AIADMK candidate in the April assembly election, resigned as MLAs and joined the ruling TVK. Earlier reporting noted: Maragatham, who had won the Madurantakam seat as an AIADMK candidate in the last assembly election, resigned as MLAs and joined the ruling TVK, like Sathyabama.
Track updates from Tamil Nadu election results In Dharapuram, Sathyabama initially witnessed a see-saw battle, with the AIADMK surging to the top spot after several rounds of counting. In neighbouring Puducherry, the ruling AINRC emerged victorious in its first electoral test since assuming office a few months ago. DMK candidate K Sethu finished third.
TVK, which runs a minority government, has 107 MLAs and relies on the support of other parties, including the Congress, as well as the outside backing of the Left parties. In the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, 118 is the majority mark. Its nominee, Ashok Anand, won the Thattanchavady bypoll by over 8,000 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Congress candidate E Vinayagam.
TVK’s win in both electoral contests increases its strength in the assembly by two seats, providing a morale boost ahead of expected bypolls in five more assembly constituencies.
