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Tamil Nadu heads for two crucial byelections on October 6
An exciting contest is on the cards in both constituencies where the ruling TVK is fielding AIADMK defectors, while the opposition DMK and AIADMK are pulling out all stops as they have a point to prove.
Political calculations in Tamil Nadu will be reworked by mid-morning of October 9, as the results of two significant byelections (scheduled for October 6) will be known by then. The two seats, Madurantakam and Dharapuram, both reserved constituencies, were won by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the May 2026 Assembly election. In an unprecedented step, the two MLAs, along with a few other AIADMK MLAs, resigned even before completing a month as legislators.
A victory for the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in both seats, which is possible given the track record of political parties in power in the State, will firmly establish the party as the biggest political force in Tamil Nadu even though it will still be short of a majority. The TVK has 107 legislators in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, where the majority mark is 118.
The party is in power with the help of post-election partners, namely the Congress, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Both the Left parties, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), provide outside support to the TVK government.
Speaking to media persons on the forthcoming byelections, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko said: “They [TVK] will win hands down.”
A victory for the AIADMK would ease the pressure on its general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who has been facing criticism after the crushing defeat in the 2026 Assembly election. An AIADMK victory would make the party’s legislators who voted for the TVK in the confidence vote held in the Assembly in May 2026 think again before switching to the TVK camp.
A victory for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) would cement its position as the principal opposition party in the State. More importantly, it will prove that the DMK is not dependent on allies for every election. Almost all the DMK’s allies had parted ways with it after the election and joined hands with the TVK. Only smaller parties and the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) remain with it.
The decision of the Left parties to contest the byelections presents a new political line in Tamil Nadu. Earlier, alliance partners decided on contesting or not contesting a vacant seat after discussions with all the political parties in the formation. The CPI(M) explained it thus: “The Left Front had earlier announced its decision to contest the byelections as a separate bloc [and remains committed to it], highlighting the need for representatives who will raise people’s issues in the Assembly.”
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on September 7 that the two byelections would be held on October 6, reasoning that there were no election petitions pending against these two seats. Also, after the resignation of the two MLAs, the seats were announced as vacant by the Assembly Speaker.
However, the two MLAs, Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama, had voted against the AIADMK whip’s notice and the AIADMK has not condoned this act (even as it condoned the other 21 MLAs who voted against the party because they had not resigned or joined the TVK).
The AIADMK had approached the Madras High Court, praying for the disqualification of the MLAs it had not condoned. Four AIADMK MLAs were named in the petition, namely S. Jayakumar, Maragatham Kumaravel, P. Sathyabama, and Esakki Subaya.
The main political parties have announced candidates for both constituencies. In Madurantakam, the DMK has chosen to field I. Paranthamen. Paranthamen won the Egmore constituency in 2021 but was denied a ticket in 2026.
The TVK has chosen to field Maragatham Kumaravel, the AIADMK candidate who switched over to its camp. She had won the seat in 2021 and in 2026. She is also a former MP. The AIADMK is fielding former MLA S. Kanitha Sampath, who represented the constituency from 2011 to 2016.
The two Left parties are working in tandem. A joint meeting of the parties decided that the CPI(M) would contest Madurantakam while the CPI would put up a candidate in Dharapuram. The CPI(M) is fielding P. Suganthi in Madurantakam. “Suganthi began her political life through the literacy movement and is currently a member of the CPI(M) Tamil Nadu State Committee and General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front. She served as the State General Secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association from 2011 to 2021,” the party said in a release.
The Dharapuram contest appears to be a face-off between the TVK and the AIADMK. The TVK is fielding P. Sathyabama, who left the AIADMK to join it. The DMK’s choice is S. Suganya, a local advocate, while the AIADMK has chosen to field K. Bhanumathi, its women’s wing functionary and former local body representative. The CPI is fielding P. Lakshmanan. In the 2026 election, the AIADMK won the seat handsomely, while the DMK was placed second. The TVK was in third position. The difference between the winner and the TVK candidate was over 34,000 votes.
Since the contest is multi-cornered, it could end up splitting votes beyond the calculations of each political party. All parties are trying to get the support of groups and associations which matter in these two towns.
AIADMK leaders met Puthiya Tamilagam party leader K. Krishnasamy to seek his support for both seats. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran has announced support for the AIADMK candidates in both seats. The BJP was the first to declare support for the AIADMK candidates, after Palaniswami called on BJP State chief Nainar Nagendran at the party office. The AMMK and the BJP were allies of the AIADMK in the 2026 election.
The byelections will also be interesting because the AIADMK has filed a Tenth Schedule disqualification petition against both the former AIADMK MLAs who are now TVK candidates. But the case is to be decided by the Assembly Speaker, who is a TVK MLA.
On June 15, Tamil Nadu’s Advocate General, Vijay Narayan, informed the First Bench of the Madras High Court that the case for disqualification against the four MLAs “will be taken to its logical conclusion” in accordance with the 2019 Supreme Court ruling in Shrimanth Balasaheb Patil v. Speaker of Karnataka .
The TVK has approached the Madras High Court to vacate the stay on byelections to the other five constituencies claiming that the lack of MLAs “deprives lakhs of people of the right to represented in the Legislative Assembly”.
This was a counter-affidavit after the ECI told the Court that it would not hold the other byelections until the five election petitions related to these constituencies are disposed off.
In all, seven constituencies now do not have an MLA. The five other constituencies are Perundurai, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai, and Karur, whose MLAs resigned and joined the TVK, and Tiruchirappalli (East), which was vacated by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. Byelections should be held within six months of a seat falling vacant, unless there are exceptional issues involved.