Madurantakam, Dharapuram bypoll results tomorrow

Chennai, Oct 8:

The votes polled in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu will be counted on Friday, with the results of the two closely watched by-elections expected to be declared on the same day.

The by-elections were necessitated after AIADMK MLAs K Maragatham Kumaravel of Madurantakam and P Sathyabama of Dharapuram resigned their Assembly seats and joined the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Both have been re-nominated by the TVK for the bypolls.

The contests have attracted considerable political attention as they constitute the first direct electoral test for the TVK government after it assumed office in May. The results are therefore expected to be closely watched by the ruling party, the opposition and other political parties in the State.

In Madurantakam (SC), 27 candidates are in the fray. The main contestants include TVK’s K Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK’s I Paranthaman, AIADMK’s K Kanitha Sampath, CPI(M)’s P Suganthi and NTK’s G Janakiraman.

In Dharapuram (SC), 22 candidates are contesting. The principal contestants include TVK’s P Sathyabama, DMK’s S Suganya, AIADMK’s K Bhanumathi, CPI’s P Lakshmanan and NTK’s M Karthika.

Dharapuram has 2,23,306 voters and 320 polling stations. Polling in both constituencies was held on October 6, following an intense campaign by the major political parties and candidates.

After polling concluded, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units were sealed in the presence of candidates and their representatives. The machines were subsequently shifted to designated strong rooms under security.

The counting process on Friday will be closely followed for the round-wise trends in both constituencies. The postal ballot votes, vote margins between the leading candidates and the final results will be watched with particular interest.

The outcome will provide an electoral indication from the two constituencies and is expected to be significant for the TVK, which is contesting its first by-elections after forming the government, as well as the DMK, AIADMK and other opposition parties.

The final results from Madurantakam and Dharapuram are expected to be declared after completion of the counting process on Friday.