Who won the 2026 Tamil Nadu bypolls? TVK takes Dharapuram and Madurantakam, rises to 109 seats

Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) won both 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly bypolls: P. Sathyabama won Dharapuram and K. Maragatham Kumaravel won Madurantakam. The October 9 results raise the ruling party’s Assembly strength from 107 to 109 seats. TVK has gained two sitting MLAs, though it still cannot command a majority on its own.

Who won Dharapuram and Madurantakam?

In Dharapuram, Sathyabama received 66,841 votes, defeating the DMK’s S. Suganya, who received 57,370, by 9,471 votes. The AIADMK’s K. Banumathi finished third with 45,280 votes.

In Madurantakam, Maragatham Kumaravel received 74,048 votes and defeated the DMK’s I. Paranthamen, who received 54,008, by 20,040 votes. The AIADMK’s S. Kanithasampath finished third with 47,450 votes. The Election Commission’s constituency results show counting completed in both seats.

Voting took place on October 6. Both constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. The winners are not newcomers to these seats: Sathyabama and Maragatham Kumaravel won them as AIADMK candidates in the 2026 Assembly election, then resigned as MLAs and joined TVK. Their resignations led to the bypolls, which they have now won under their new party’s banner.

What do the results mean for Vijay’s TVK in the Assembly?

The distinction is between TVK’s election-night tally and its number of sitting MLAs before these bypolls. TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly election. Chief Minister Vijay had won two constituencies and subsequently vacated Tiruchirappalli East while retaining Perambur, leaving his party with 107 sitting MLAs. The Dharapuram and Madurantakam victories take that figure to 109.

That is still nine seats below the 118 needed for a majority in a fully occupied 234-member Assembly. Five seats remain vacant, so the number required for a majority of the Assembly’s current 229 sitting members is 115. TVK’s 109 seats fall short of that figure too; the government continues to rely on support from other parties. The bypoll wins strengthen Vijay’s party, but they do not turn it into a single-party majority government.

The two results also change which party represents Dharapuram and Madurantakam. Both were won by the AIADMK at the general election; both will now have TVK MLAs. The DMK finished second and the AIADMK third in each bypoll. That is a clear result in these constituencies, but two by-elections alone cannot establish how voters across Tamil Nadu would respond in a statewide contest.

What happens to the other vacant seats?

The five vacancies are Tiruchirappalli East, Perundurai, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai and Karur. They were not part of the October 6 vote: by-elections there have been held up amid legal proceedings concerning the earlier election results. Their eventual outcomes could alter the Assembly arithmetic again.

For now, the answer to who won the Tamil Nadu bypolls is straightforward: TVK won both. The lasting Assembly implication is a rise from 107 to 109 MLAs—not an outright majority for Vijay’s party.