Lakshyukhi

Madurantakam / Dharapuram TN by-poll results 2026 = Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly constituency Bye Election 2026 TNLA

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly By-Elections 2026

Maduranthakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC)

Election Overview:

The Election Commission has conducted by-elections in two Scheduled Caste-reserved Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu:

Assembly Constituency No. 35 – Maduranthakam (SC), Chengalpattu district

Assembly Constituency No. 101 – Dharapuram (SC), Tiruppur district

The official election schedule was:

Election event	Date
Gazette notification	09-Sep-26
Last date for nominations	16-Sep-26
Scrutiny	17-Sep-26
Withdrawal of candidates	19-Sep-26
Polling	06-Oct-26
Counting	09-Oct-26
Election completion deadline	11-Oct-26

Why Were the By-elections Held?

The by-elections were necessitated after the sitting AIADMK MLAs resigned from the Assembly and subsequently joined the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Maduranthakam

K. Maragatham Kumaravel had won the Maduranthakam (SC) constituency as an AIADMK candidate in the April 2026 Assembly election.

She subsequently resigned as MLA and joined TVK.

TVK then nominated K. Maragatham Kumaravel again for the Maduranthakam by-election, this time as its candidate.

Dharapuram

P. Sathyabama had won Dharapuram (SC) as an AIADMK candidate in the April 2026 Assembly election.

She subsequently resigned from the Assembly and joined TVK.

TVK has again fielded her in the Dharapuram by-election.

Thus, the central political issue surrounding these by-elections is the decision of the two elected AIADMK MLAs to leave the party and contest again under the TVK banner.

Maduranthakam (SC)

Constituency Profile

Maduranthakam is Assembly Constituency No. 35 and is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

For the 2026 by-election, the constituency had approximately 2.14 lakh electors and 285 polling stations, according to election-day information.

The final contest has 27 candidates, including independents.

Principal Candidates: TVK vs DMK vs AIADMK – Who wins this race?

Candidate	Party
K. Maragatham Kumaravel	TVK
I. Paranthamen	DMK
S. Kanitha Sampath	AIADMK
P. Suganthi	CPI(M)
G. Janakiraman	NTK

The major contest therefore involves TVK, DMK, AIADMK, CPI(M) and NTK, along with independent candidates.

Maduranthakam – Previous Election Result

The April/May 2026 Assembly election is particularly important because the same constituency is now witnessing a by-election only months later.

According to the Election Commission’s official results:

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote share
K. Maragatham Kumaravel	AIADMK	69,284	34.95%
Ezhil Katharine Ezhilmalai	TVK	62,090	31.32%
S. Amulu Ponmalar	DMK	59,838	30.18%
G. Janakiraman	NTK	4,950	2.50%
Others/NOTA	—	—	—

The AIADMK candidate won by 7,194 votes over the TVK candidate.

Why this result matters:

The April election established three important vote bases:

AIADMK: 69,284 – Winner

TVK: 62,090

DMK: 59,838

The subsequent resignation of the AIADMK winner and her decision to contest the by-election for TVK has therefore created a direct political test.

The question is no longer simply which party can win Maduranthakam. A major question is whether the voters who elected Maragatham Kumaravel on an AIADMK ticket will support her again after her move to TVK.

Dharapuram (SC) : C. Joseph Vijay  vs M K Stalin vs Edappadi K. Palaniswami

Dharapuram is Assembly Constituency No. 101 in Tiruppur district and is also reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

The constituency has approximately 2.23 lakh voters, according to election-day reporting.

The principal candidates include:

Candidate	Party
P. Sathyabama	TVK
S. Suganya	DMK
K. Banumathi	AIADMK
P. Lakshmanan	CPI
M. Karthika	NTK

The final field contains 22 candidates, according to the official/current election reporting.

There was some variation in early reports because candidate numbers changed during scrutiny and withdrawal. The final figure after withdrawal is 22 candidates, not the larger number of nominations initially filed.

Voter Turnout – 6 October 2026

Polling was conducted from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM yesterday.

The two constituencies witnessed substantial voter participation.

Current election-day reports indicate that turnout was approximately:

For comparison, turnout in the April 2026 Assembly election had been substantially higher:

Constituency	By-Election	April’26 Election
Maduranthakam	Approx. 86%	Approx. 93.23%
Dharapuram	Approx. 80%	Approx. 89.96%

Thus, the by-election appears to have recorded a lower turnout than the April Assembly election.

Political Importance of the By-Elections

These are not ordinary by-elections.

They represent the first electoral test for the TVK government after it came to power in 2026.

The results will therefore be watched for several reasons.

TVK Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam

For TVK, the election is an opportunity to demonstrate that the party’s electoral support has remained strong after assuming power.

More importantly, TVK has fielded the same two former AIADMK MLAs who won these seats in the previous Assembly election.

A victory for TVK could strengthen the argument that the voters have accepted their political transition.

AIADMK All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

For AIADMK, the elections provide an opportunity to test whether its traditional vote base remains with the party after the defections of its former MLAs.

Winning either constituency would give AIADMK an important political message: that voters elected the candidates as AIADMK representatives rather than simply voting for the individual candidates.

DMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

DMK is another major participant in both constituencies.

The party will be looking to consolidate its vote base and potentially benefit from a division between TVK and AIADMK supporters.

In Maduranthakam in particular, DMK’s April 2026 performance — 59,838 votes — places it within the range of the two leading parties and makes the constituency highly competitive.

Left Parties and NTK

CPI/CPI(M) and NTK are also contesting, adding further competition to the principal three-party battle.

The Central Political Question

The most significant feature of these elections is the party-switching issue.

The two MLAs were elected on AIADMK seats in April 2026.

They then:

won as AIADMK → resigned as MLAs → joined TVK → received TVK seats → sought re-election.

Therefore, the by-election effectively asks voters whether they endorse that political transition.

This makes the outcome particularly significant even though only two Assembly seats are being contested.

 Election-Day Developments

Polling was generally conducted peacefully, although there were reports of isolated technical issues and complaints at some polling stations.

In Maduranthakam, a brief interruption was reported at a polling station following a complaint concerning the placement/appearance of indelible ink marks near an EVM button. Election officials examined the matter and polling resumed.

There were also complaints concerning campaign-related conduct near polling stations. Such allegations were reported by political parties and should not be treated as established findings unless confirmed by the competent election authorities.

Overall Assessment

The Maduranthakam and Dharapuram by-elections are politically important because they represent an early test of the newly established TVK government’s electoral strength.

The elections have a particularly unusual background: the two constituencies were won by AIADMK candidates in the April 2026 Assembly election, but those same MLAs subsequently joined TVK and are now seeking fresh mandates under the TVK banner.

Consequently, the October 2026 by-election is effectively a fresh voter verdict on the political transition of the two MLAs.

Maduranthakam is especially interesting because the April election produced a close three-way contest.

The difference between the top three candidates was relatively small, making the transfer of votes between the three major political forces particularly important.

Dharapuram presents a similar political test, with former AIADMK MLA P. Sathyabama now contesting as a TVK candidate.

The 9 October counting will therefore provide the decisive answer on whether voters have endorsed the two candidates’ transition to TVK or preferred a different political representation.