TVK candidates K Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama won the Madurantakam and Dharapuram bypolls on Friday. These former AIADMK members helped Chief Minister Vijay strengthen his coalition government. Analyst Ramesh Sethuraman said, "I will not be surprised to see further exodus from AIADMK to TVK in the coming days."
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.
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.
On Friday, the TVK's K Maragatham Kumaravel won from Madurantakam (SC) and P Sathyabama from Dharapuram (SC) assembly seats. They had won this summer assembly polls from these constituencies on an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) ticket and resigned in July 2026 with four other AIADMK MLAs from the assembly to help Vijay prove his majority. Polls in four other assembly seats could not be held as pleas to disqualify them for six years are pending before the Madras high court.
Elections to Tiruchirappalli (East) seat, from where Vijay won and later resigned from while retaining Perambur, were also not held for that reason.
According to ECI's data, Kumaravel bagged 72,622 votes, defeating DMK's I Paranthamen who bagged 52,580 votes. 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.
"TVK may think it has entered the fortress of the AIADMK. 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.
The total number of seats bagged by TVK alone has increased to 109, thereby improving its majority mark. The 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly currently has five vacant seats, making the majority mark 115.
With the victory of TVK in the bypolls, the pressure on the CPI (M) and CPI which won in two Assembly segments each in assembly elections has eased.
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.
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. He operated with the mindset that his entire political career depended on winning these two constituencies," said the former chief minister.