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Madras high court extends stay on 5 Tamil Nadu assembly bypolls. One was won by CM Vijay
The court has extended the interim stay on notifying the bypolls till September 8 as election petitions challenging the victories are still pending.
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The Madras high court on Monday extended the stay on five Tamil Nadu assembly seats that were supposed to go to bypolls, including a seat that was won by chief minister C Jopseph Vijay.
According to news agency ANI, the Election Commission of India informed the high court that it will not notify bypolls for five Assembly constituencies until pending election petitions are decided. The court has extended the interim stay on notifying the bypolls till September 8. It rejected the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government's plea to vacate the stay.
The five constituencies are Tiruchy East, Viralimalai, Perundurai, Ambasamudram and Karur. CM Vijay had won the Trichy East seat, one of the two seats he won, along with Perambur. Vijay had vacated Trichy East after winning two seats, necessitating the bypoll.
The ECI's submission that it has no plan to announce the bypolls till the election cases are over was opposed by the Tamil Nadu government. The state government has sought an early hearing of the case.
The stay continues as election petitions challenging the victories in these five seats are still pending, ANI reported.
MK Stalin challenges his election loss
In another petition, DMK president and former Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin on Monday filed an election petition in the Madras High Court, challenging the election victory of TVK candidate VS Babu from the Kolathur Assembly constituency.
Earlier this year, Stalin lost his stronghold of Kolathur to VS Babu of the newly formed TVK in the 2026 state assembly elections. In a closely watched contest, Babu secured victory by a margin of 8,795 votes.
Citing alleged malfunctions in voting machines and irregularities involving VVPAT machines, the petition seeks an order for a recount of votes in the Kolathur constituency. Stalin has also sought a declaration that VS Babu's election be declared void and that he himself be declared the winner.
Stalin was a three-time MLA from Kolathur, but could not secure the seat for a fourth consecutive term. But despite the setback, Stalin thanked voters, noting that the DMK alliance secured over 1.54 crore votes, with a narrow 3.52 per cent difference from the winning party.
]VS Babu had, at the time, attributed the victory to party chief Vijay and a local connection. Touching upon the anti-incumbency factor, he had said that his win came against the backdrop of people's desire for change in Tamil Nadu.
"I have won only with our leader. Our leader's face is the face of Tamil Nadu. People wanted change, and they have made this change. I was born and brought up in that area. We know the pulse of people. It's we who made him (MK Stalin) enter Kolathur. He doesn't know anyone in Kolathur. Whether he is a CM or an MLA, he should mingle with local people first. People are watching it," VS Babu told ANI after being declared the winner in May.
