Continuing its winning streak, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday retained the Vikravandi assembly seat in the bye-election with a huge margin of over 67,000 votes. This is the first election shortly after the Lok Sabha elections in which the DMK-led INDIA alliance has swept all the 39 seats in TN and the lone seat in neighbouring Puducherry.

DMK’s Anniyur Siva polled 1,24,053 votes while his nearest rival C Anbmani of the the OBC-Vanniyar dominant Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an NDA constituent, secured 56,296 votes.

Advertisement

The Tamil nationalist ‘Naam Tamil Katchi (NTK) nominee K Abinaya has received 10,602 votes. The principal opposition AIADMK has boycotted it on the pretext that the ruling DMK will not allow free and fair election.

DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin celebrated the victory by distributing sweets to party workers and functionaries at the DMK headquarters ‘Anna Arivalayam’.

With the DMK’s Anniyur Siva establishing an unassailable lead of 40,000 votes by noon against his nearest PMK rival C Anbumani, celebrations erupted in Chennai and across the state with DMK workers bursting crackers.

Thanking the voters, Stalin said “it is a victory to be inscribed in gold in the history of the DMK. To hide their defeat, the BJP-led alliance has unleashed lies and canards against me and the DMK, touching a new low in public discourse.

The people have chased away these idlers, disregarding them.” “Parties in the India bloc have registered victories while the BJP is facing losses in other states where bypolls were held. The BJP should learn from these defeats,” the DMK chief added.

Stalin further said, “It is still a mystery as to why the PMK, which was steadfastly opposed to contesting by-polls as a policy of the party, has entered the fray.”

With the DMK’s victory in Vikravandi, the trend of the ruling party winning bypolls in Tamil Nadu continues. Earlier, the Congress had won the Erode bypoll with a similar huge margin, riding on the DMK’s back. As such, the opposition reaction was on expected lines.

NTK chief coordinator Seeman termed the bypoll as open bidding and not as an election. As in the Erode bypoll, the NTK had secured a little over 10000 votes in Vikravandi.

PMK founder S Ramadoss, in a statement maintained that, “the ruling DMK had used money power and won the election. Free flow of liquor, cash and gifts was witnessed. Yet, more than 56,000 voters casting their votes for the PMK is a victory for the party. It was the PMK which has won the election.”

Accepting the verdict of the people, BJP State president K Annamalai, said “This bypoll result will have no reflection in the 2026 assembly election. There will be change and it is certain. DMK ministers were deployed in full strength. Violations and irregularities were so common. But, despite the DMK employing its money power and official machinery at its disposal, people have voted for our alliance in large numbers.”