Tamil Nadu: DMK holds vote share despite bypoll defeats, weakened alliance
Chennai: The DMK has said that it retained its vote share in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly bypolls despite losing both contests, with the results indicating that the departure of several longstanding allies had only a limited impact on its electoral support.
The party finished second in both constituencies, improving its position in Madurantakam, where it had placed third in the Assembly general election five months earlier. Its vote share declined by just over one percentage point in Madurantakam and less than half a percentage point in Dharapuram.
Maragatham Kumaravel in Madurantakam and Sathyabama in Dharapuram, who had won the general election as AIADMK candidates on the “Two Leaves” symbol, secured fresh victories as Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) candidates contesting on the “Whistle” symbol.
Although the bypolls witnessed five-way contests, the principal battle was among the ruling TVK, the DMK and the AIADMK. The results offered the DMK a measure of reassurance about the durability of its support despite a substantially weakened alliance.
The Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, MDMK, CPI(M), CPI and Indian Union Muslim League had withdrawn from the DMK-led alliance. The DMK consequently entered the contest with a smaller support base among allied parties, including the Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi.
In Madurantakam, DMK candidate Amulu Ponmalar had polled 59,838 votes in the general election, securing a 30.18 per cent vote share but finishing third.
In the bypoll, party candidate I. Paranthaman finished second with a 29.15 per cent share, a decline of 1.03 percentage points.
In Dharapuram, the DMK’s Indrani secured 64,373 votes and finished second in the general election, with a vote share of 32.20 per cent.
Bypoll candidate Sukanya also finished second, polling 57,370 votes and securing 31.78 per cent, a reduction of only 0.42 percentage points.
The DMK also drew support through postal ballots. Its candidate received 358 of the 864 postal votes recorded in Madurantakam, while the party secured 613 of the 1,316 postal votes in Dharapuram.
Speaking to reporters at Kodambakkam in Chennai, DMK president M.K. Stalin described the outcome as “a victory within the DMK’s defeat” and “a defeat within TVK’s victory”.
His remarks framed the narrow decline in vote share as a positive for the party, even as it failed to convert its support into victories in either constituency.
–IANS
aal/skp
