Chennai, Oct 9:
The AIADMK has taken the lead over the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the Dharapuram Assembly by-election, with TVK candidate P. Sathyabama trailing by more than 500 votes as counting progresses.
AIADMK candidate K. Bhanumathi is ahead of Sathyabama, who had represented Dharapuram as an AIADMK MLA before resigning and joining TVK. DMK candidate S. Suganya is also in the fray.
The shifting lead comes amid keenly watched counting in Dharapuram and Madurantakam, the two constituencies where by-elections were held on October 6. The results are being closely followed as an early electoral test for the Vijay-led TVK government.
The vote margin remains provisional and may change in subsequent rounds of counting.