AIADMK confident of winning Madurantakam, Dharapuram bypolls: Palaniswami

Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami expressed confidence that his party would win the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly by-elections, describing both constituencies as traditional strongholds of the opposition party.

Palaniswami, in a social media post on Tuesday, said the AIADMK had won both seats in the 2026 Assembly election and continued to enjoy considerable grassroots support there.

He maintained that voters would once again back the party despite the changed political circumstances that forced the bypolls.

Polling in the two Scheduled Caste-reserved constituencies will be held on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

The vacancies arose after AIADMK legislators K. Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P. Sathyabama of Dharapuram resigned their Assembly seats and joined Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

TVK has now fielded the two former AIADMK legislators from their respective constituencies.

The ruling party hopes that its local networks, combined with CM Vijay’s popularity and the strength of its Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance, will help it retain both seats under a new political banner.

The DMK has nominated Advocate I. Paranthamen, a joint secretary of its legal wing, for Madurantakam and Advocate S. Suganya in Dharapuram.

AIADMK has chosen former legislator Kanitha Sampath for Madurantakam and Bhanumathi, a Tiruppur district women’s wing functionary and former local body representative, for Dharapuram.

The contests are politically important for Palaniswami, whose party has been battling defections, internal divisions and questions over his control of its legislature group after its defeat in the state election.

Six AIADMK legislators have resigned or broken ranks since the election, strengthening the ruling TVK and placing the opposition leadership under mounting pressure. Victories in the two constituencies would help the AIADMK demonstrate that its organisational base remains intact despite the exodus.

Referring to CM Vijay’s visit to London to attract industrial investment, Palaniswami said the Chief Minister should disclose the complete details after returning to Chennai. He also criticised the government over unannounced power cuts across Tamil Nadu.

Palaniswami said the outages were causing serious hardship to residents, exposing families to mosquito bites at night and disrupting students’ studies. The power situation, he argued, showed that the government had failed to ensure an uninterrupted supply even while promoting its investment record abroad. He urged the administration to take corrective measures and protect households, businesses and students from further disruption.

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