TN bye-polls: TVK wins Dharapuram and Madurantakam, boosting Vijay’s Assembly strength

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidates P Sathyabama and K Maragatham Kumaravel have won the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly bye-elections respectively, as per the results announced on October 9, Friday. The wins are politically significant for Chief Minister Vijay, whose TVK-led government lacks a majority of its own in the Tamil Nadu Assembly and needs the support of other parties to remain in power. The victories come after both candidates, who had won the constituencies on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) tickets in the 2026 Assembly elections held five months ago, switched to the TVK and resigned from their seats to contest the bye-elections on their new party’s tickets. The bye-elections were held on October 6. In Madurantakam, Maragatham defeated DMK candidate Paranthamen by  over 17,500 votes, while Sathyabama defeated DMK candidate Suganya by nearly 10,000 votes in Dharapuram. The TVK candidates took the lead after initial trends favoured the AIADMK, eventually finishing ahead of their DMK rivals.In the May 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Sathyabama won the Dharapuram constituency with 81,100 votes, defeating DMK candidate T Indirani, who secured 64,373 votes, by a margin of 16,727 votes. Similarly, in Madurantakam, Maragatham Kumaravel won with 69,284 votes, defeating TVK candidate Ezhil Katharine Ezhilmalai, who secured 62,090 votes, by a margin of 7,194 votes.The results give Vijay’s party a boost as it seeks to consolidate its position in the Assembly. With the two victories, the TVK’s tally has risen to 110 seats, leaving it eight short of the 118 required for a simple majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.The bye-elections were held in Dharapuram, in Tiruppur district, and Madurantakam, in Chengalpattu district. Both are reserved constituencies for Scheduled Caste candidates. The contests were closely watched as an early electoral test of the TVK government and its ability to expand its support base beyond the Assembly elections.Voter turnout, however, declined in both constituencies compared with the Assembly elections held five months earlier. According to figures available on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website at 9 pm on polling day, Madurantakam recorded an approximate turnout of 86.26%, down from 93.22% in the Assembly elections. Dharapuram recorded a turnout of 80.30%, compared with 89.89% previously.