Dharapuram, Madurantakam bypolls on October 6 after AIADMK MLAs quit, join TVK

The Election Commission has announced bypolls in Dharapuram and Madurantakam on October 6 after two AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined TVK. The vacancies are part of a wider by-election schedule across states, with the Model Code taking effect immediately.

In Short

• Counting in both Tamil Nadu Assembly seats is scheduled for October 9
• Sathyabama and Kumaravel had won the two reserved seats in assembly polls
• Both legislators later backed Vijay's government during the floor test

The Election Commission on Monday announced by-elections to the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, with polling scheduled for October 6 and counting of votes on October 9.

The two seats fell vacant after AIADMK MLAs P Sathyabama and Maragatham Kumaravel resigned from the Assembly and joined Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Sathyabama had won from Dharapuram (SC), while Kumaravel represented Madurantakam (SC) in the recent Assembly elections.

The two were among a group of rebel AIADMK legislators who backed Chief Minister Vijay's TVK government in a floor test. Their resignations subsequently necessitated the bypolls in the two constituencies.

The announcement comes as part of a wider round of by-elections to five Assembly seats across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry. The Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the districts concerned, the poll panel said.

In West Bengal, bypolls will be held in Nandigram and Rejinagar. Nandigram fell vacant after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari resigned as MLA from the seat after choosing to retain Bhabanipur, where he defeated former chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Adhikari had contested and won both Nandigram and Bhabanipur in the April Assembly elections. He defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by 15,105 votes and subsequently opted to retain the Kolkata seat. He had also defeated her in Nandigram in the 2021 Assembly elections.

The other West Bengal seat, Rejinagar, was vacated by Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir. A former Trinamool Congress leader, Kabir won both Rejinagar and Naoda in the 2026 Assembly elections after floating his own party following his expulsion from the TMC.

In Puducherry, the Thattanchavady Assembly seat was vacated by Chief Minister and All India N R Congress chief N Rangasamy. He had won from both Thattanchavady and Mangalam in the Assembly elections but opted to retain Mangalam.

The EC has also announced a bypoll to Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency on October 6, with counting scheduled for October 9.

The Nagaon seat fell vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi joined the BJP and won the Dispur Assembly seat in the recent elections. Bordoloi had won Nagaon on a Congress ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Two other Lok Sabha seats — Shillong in Meghalaya and Basirhat in West Bengal — remain vacant, but the EC has not scheduled bypolls for them yet. Shillong fell vacant following the death of Voice of the People Party MP Ricky Andrew J Syngkon in February this year, while Basirhat has been vacant since the death of Trinamool Congress MP Haji Sheikh Nurul Islam in September 2024.

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