Vijay govt faces first litmus test as Madurantakam, Dharapuram bypolls deliver results tomorrow

Chennai: Counting of votes in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls will be held on Friday, with the results set to provide an early electoral test for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government.

Postal ballots will be taken up first when counting starts at 8 a.m., followed by votes recorded into the electronic voting machines.

Both constituencies, reserved for Scheduled Castes, went to the polls on October 6 after an intensive campaign involving leading figures from the ruling party and opposition.

The contests carry considerable political significance for TVK, which came to power after winning 108 seats in the Assembly election, short of the 118 required for a majority.

Victories would strengthen its position, while defeats would give opposition parties an opportunity to question the government’s popularity.

CM Vijay led the ruling party’s campaign, while DMK president M.K. Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami canvassed for their respective candidates.

In Madurantakam, Chengalpattu district, the principal contenders are TVK’s Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK’s Paranthaman, AIADMK’s Ganitha Sampath, CPI(M)’s Sugandhi and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Janakiraman.

In Dharapuram, Tiruppur district, TVK’s Sathyabama faces DMK’s Sukanya, AIADMK’s Bhanumathi, CPI’s Lakshmanan and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Karthika among the leading candidates.

Both TVK nominees had won these constituencies as AIADMK candidates in the Assembly election before switching parties. Their candidature has added a personal dimension to the battle, testing whether they can retain support under a different political banner.

Turnout declined in both seats compared with the April election. Madurantakam recorded approximately 86 per cent polling, against about 93 per cent previously, while Dharapuram registered around 80 per cent, down from nearly 90 per cent.

Madurantakam has 2,13,788 registered voters, including 1,04,926 men, 1,08,797 women and 65 transgender voters.

Dharapuram has 2,23,306 voters: 1,07,285 men, 1,16,013 women and eight transgender voters.

The lower participation has prompted concern in political parties over its possible impact on the outcome. However, turnout figures alone cannot establish which party stands to gain or whether younger voters stayed away in significant numbers.

With multiple parties competing and former AIADMK legislators seeking fresh mandates as TVK candidates, Friday’s results will reveal how voters have responded to the changed political alignments and the government’s initial months in office. The outcome will also shape the opposition’s political strategy.