P. Sathyabama
Former AIADMK MLA of Dharapuram; resigned on 25 May and joined TVK. TVK Tiruppur south-east district secretary.
Ruling alliance (SSJVA)Home › By-Elections 2026 › Dharapuram
தாராபுரம் இடைத்தேர்தல்
The seat fell vacant when P. Sathyabama, elected on the AIADMK ticket in May 2026, resigned on 25 May and joined TVK. This is the ruling TVK’s first electoral test since forming the government.
Friday 9 October · counting from 8 AM
Loading the latest count…
From vacancy to result
Who is contesting
Former AIADMK MLA of Dharapuram; resigned on 25 May and joined TVK. TVK Tiruppur south-east district secretary.
Ruling alliance (SSJVA)Young advocate fielded as a fresh face; DMK’s P. Indrani lost to Sathyabama in May.
Joint secretary of the Tiruppur suburban east women’s wing; has held local body and party posts.
Contesting as part of an independent Left front, outside the ruling alliance.
Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate.
51 nominations filed · 29 rejected · 22 accepted at scrutiny on 17 Sep, including 13 independents. The final list was set when withdrawals closed on 19 Sep.
The last contest · 4 May 2026
P. Sathyabama won on the AIADMK ticket in May 2026 and is now TVK’s Tiruppur south-east district secretary. In May the AIADMK won this seat while TVK’s own candidate finished third. The bypoll tests whether her personal vote and TVK’s earlier 23% combine.
This is Dharapuram’s first by-election since 1967 and the first Assembly bypoll in Tiruppur district. The seat has swung between the DMK and AIADMK over the decades.
Why there is a by-election
25 May 2026 — resignation accepted
P. Sathyabama submitted a handwritten resignation to Speaker JCD Prabhakar at the Secretariat, together with fellow AIADMK MLAs from Madurantakam (K. Maragatham Kumaravel) and Perundurai (S. Jayakumar). The Speaker accepted all three the same day, saying the letters were in order. That evening they joined TVK in the presence of Minister Aadhav Arjuna.
The AIADMK asked the Speaker not to accept the resignations while its plea to disqualify the 25 MLAs who backed the government in the 13 May floor test was pending, and called the move “horse-trading”.
Why only two of seven vacant seats go to polls
Seven Assembly seats are vacant. Only Madurantakam and Dharapuram were scheduled. Polls in the other five — Tiruchi East, Karur, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai and Perundurai — are held up by a Madras High Court stay linked to pending election cases, with final arguments due on 28 September.
Local issues
Watch
On the ground · latest first
Counting began at 8 AM on Friday 9 October. Follow the official count above.
Live count ›Voters turned out at 320 polling stations; the Election Commission’s latest provisional figure was 80.30%, against 88.84% in May. EVMs were sealed and moved to the strong room.
Read the full storyCM Vijay held a 40-km road show with Sathyabama, took a bullock-cart ride and spoke out against remarks about women; campaigning ended at 6 PM. Read ›
Vijay addressed the meeting at Chithravuthanpalayam, listing the government’s record and projects for Tiruppur, and naming Dharapuram’s pending needs — house-site pattas, irrigation, drinking water and civic works. Former minister S. Semmalai joined TVK at the venue.
Read the full storyAIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami campaigned for K. Banumathi on 27–28 September.
Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin held a roadshow with DMK candidate S. Suganya in Tiruppur district (IANS).
The Madras High Court dismissed a PIL that sought to bar the former MLAs from recontesting and to recover the cost of the by-election, holding that only the legislature can make such a law.
Read the full storyAfter a DMK petition to the Election Commission, TVK withdrew VCK’s Thol. Thirumavalavan and MDMK’s Vaiko from its list of star campaigners.
PMK announced it would not support any party in the bypolls — seen as a setback for the AIADMK.
Every story on this seat
Candidate details and dates are from Election Commission schedules and news reports. Live counting figures on this page are entered from the Election Commission’s official results (results.eci.gov.in).