States » SouthPosted at: Sep 19 2026 4:58PM


After last date for withdrawals, 49 candidates in fray for Oct 6 Assembly bypoll to two TN seats

Chennai, Sep 19 (UNI) A total of 49 candidates are in the fray for the October six Tamil Nadu Assembly by-elections to the reserved Madurantakam and Dharapuram seats after the last date for withdrawals ended on Saturday.
The seats fell vacant following the resignation of Rebel AIADMK MLAs leading to the bypolls.
A total of 99 nominations were filed, of them 50 were accepted and 49, most of them Independents, were rejected during scrutiny.
Official sources said of the total 48 papers filed in Madurantakam (35 men, 13 women) 28 were accepted and 20 rejected. In Dharapuram a total of 51 candidates (23 men, 28 women) have filed their papers of which 22 were accepted and 29 rejected.
It said the nominations of candidates of all the five leading parties -- ruling TVK, Opposition DMK, AIADMK, NTK, CPI and CPI-M, were found in order and accepted.
On the last day for withdrawals today, a woman Independent candidate withdrew her papers leaving 27 in fray for the Madurantakam seat. There were no withdrawals in Dharapuram, leaving 22 candidates vying for the seat.
Those in the race in the tough five-cornered contest are candidates of the ruling TVK, which had expectedly fielded turncoats Ms.K.Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam) and Ms.P.Sathyabama (Dharapuram) -- who had held the seat before they quit the AIADMK and joined the TVK resulting in bypolls.
Apart from Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK's I.Paranthaman, former MLA Ms.Kanitha Sampath of AIADMK, Ms.P.Suganthi of CPI-M and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK)'s K,Janakiraman are in the fray in Madurantakam, while Sathyabama (TVK), Ms.Suganya (DMK), AIADMK's Ms.K.Bhanumathi, P.Lakshmanan of CPI and NTK's M.Karthika are main contestants in Dharapuram. The rest were Independents.
The entry of the Left Parties, which was extending outside support to the TVK government and entered the fray on its own, has converted the bypolls--seen as a referendum to the four-month-old Vijay government-- into a five-cornered contest.
The entry of the left parties into the fray, while asserting that there would be no threat to the stability of the Vijay government and that their committed outside support to it would continue, has caused surprise in political surprises, including among the TVK and its other allies. However, CPI State Secretary M.Veerapandian and his CPI(M) counterpart P.Shanmugam justified their decision saying they were not part of any of the three fronts headed by the formidable TVK, which has Congress, VCK and IUML and MDMK, the DMK-led SPA, which had faced significant post-poll desertions and now left with DMDK as its lone ally, and the AIADMK-heading NDA that also has BJP, PMK and AMMK.
Shanmugam also categorically stated that not supporting TVK does not mean that the left parties are indirectly supporting the DMK in the bypolls. It is a wrong notion and not acceptable. We are not part of any of the three fronts. We have decided to contest, as this is neither a general election or intended for a regime change. It's a byelection and we (the CPI andCPI-M) have fielded candidates against all the three fronts.
Meanwhile, for the bypoll to the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in neighbouring Puducherry, a total of 11 candidates are in the fray. Among the key candidates in the four-cornered contest included ruling AINRC nominee and former MLA Ashok Anand, contesting as part of NDA, E Vinayagam of Congress contesting as an ally of the TVK,, DMK's K Sethu alias Sethuselvam, and CPI's A Mohamed Saleem.
The bypoll was caused following the resignation of Chief Minister and AINRC Founder N.Rangasamy, who had won from two seats in the April 9 elections, and chose to retain the Mangalam seat.
UNI GV 1650
Tags: #After last date for withdrawals# 49 candidates in fray for Oct 6 Assembly bypoll to two TN seats
More News

Preventing waste from entering sea through drains key to protecting oceans: Vizag MP SriBharat

19 Sep 2026 | 5:56 PM

Visakhapatnam, Sept 19 (UNI) Visakhapatnam MP Mathukumilli SriBharat on Saturday called for comprehensive measures to prevent plastic, solid waste and untreated wastewater from entering the sea through the city's drainage network, saying periodic beach-cleaning drives alone cannot address marine pollution.

see more..

TPCC challenges KTR, Harish Rao to furnish survey details on 22-A land claims

19 Sep 2026 | 5:52 PM

Hyderabad, Sept 19 (UNI) TPCC spokesperson Syed Nizamuddin on Saturday challenged BRS working president K T Rama Rao and senior leader T Harish Rao to provide survey-wise details of private properties allegedly included wrongly in the Section 22-A prohibited properties list, saying genuine cases would be verified and corrected.

see more..

BRS leader Sohail accuses Congress govt, AIMIM of ‘failure’ on minority welfare

19 Sep 2026 | 5:42 PM

Hyderabad, Sept 19 (UNI) Senior BRS leader Shaik Abdullah Sohail on Saturday alleged that the Congress government had failed to effectively implement minority welfare schemes and accused AIMIM of not mounting adequate pressure on the government over the issue.

see more..

Tirupati: Eminent surgical oncologist offers specialised cancer care at SVIMS under Srivari Vaidya Seva

19 Sep 2026 | 5:31 PM

Tirupati, Sep 19 (UNI) Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) is providing specialised cancer care to patients by bringing eminent medical experts from India and abroad under the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams' (TTD) Srivari Vaidya Seva initiative.

see more..

Kakinada: NTR Beach cleared of over 500 kg waste on International Coastal Cleanup Day

19 Sep 2026 | 5:30 PM

Kakinada, Sep 19 (UNI) The Indian Coast Guard's Kakinada unit, in coordination with the district administration and industrial units, removed over 500 kg of plastic and solid waste from NTR Beach here on Saturday as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day.

see more..