AIADMK Invites Applications For Upcoming By-polls
9 Sept 2026 10:29 AM IST9 Sept 2026 10:29 AM IST
The political scene in Tamil Nadu heated up on Tuesday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the by-elections to two Assembly constituencies- Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC) – to fill the vacancies.
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Chennai: The political scene in Tamil Nadu heated up on Tuesday after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the by-elections to two Assembly constituencies on October 6 – Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC) – to fill the vacancies caused by the resignation of the newly elected representatives belonging to the AIADMK, who gave up their seats to move over to the TVK.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami responded immediately by calling for applications from aspirants for the two seats and reportedly told his party leaders that the constituencies basically ‘belonged’ to the AIADMK and should be reclaimed.
The DMK, on its part, had called for a consultative meeting with senior leaders at Anna Arivalayam on Wednesday to decide on the strategy to be followed for the election that would in all likelihood see the two candidates, whose resignation led to the by-election, contesting in TVK tickets as they had already switched over to the ruling party.
So Maragatham Kumaravel will be the candidate from Madurantakam and P Sathyabhama would be fielded from Dharapuram by the TVK, while the AIADMK would strive hard to retain the seats by nominating popular party functionaries in the respective constituencies. Already a former MLA from Maduranthagamm, Kaniga Sampath has evinced interest in contesting as an AIADMK candidate.
More such local leaders would come up to take up the fight in Dharapuram, too, party sources said, evincing the hope that the AIADMK will keep the seats.
The DMK, however, is planning to boycott the by-elections. There is also speculation that it might throw its weight behind the AIADMK candidates in a bid to defeat the TVK that had actually lured AIADMK candidates from four other constituencies, Perundurai, Karur, Viralimalai and Ambasamudram.
Those candidates, who have also switched loyalties to the ruling TVK, are waiting to contest again in the by-elections whenever they are called. Along with them
Those six seats have been lying vacant for a long time, along with Trichy East, which was vacated by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who was elected from two constituencies. Vijay retained Perumbur in Chennai and gave up Trichy East.
Though the by-elections are inconsequential to the political stability of both the Vijay-led TVK government and the NR Congress government, they could be seen as important yardsticks to assess the performance of the TVK government.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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