DMK chief Stalin moves High Court challenging TVK candidate V.S. Babu’s victory in Kolathur
DMK President M.K. Stalin has filed a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the election victory of TVK candidate V.S. Babu in the Kolathur constituency. Stalin alleges significant irregularities in the EVM and VVPAT verification process and is seeking a full recount.
Why it matters
This legal challenge raises questions regarding the integrity of the electoral process and the transparency of electronic voting machine verification.
DMK President M. K. Stalin on Monday (August 24, 2026) filed a petition in the Madras High Court, seeking to declare the election of TVK candidate V. S. Babu from the Kolathur Assembly constituency as void and consequently declare him as duly elected from that constituency.
In his petition, Mr. Stalin submitted that after the election was over and results were declared, he had duly nominated senior advocate N. R. Elango as his authorised representative for checking and verification of the burnt memory/microcontroller in the Control Unit, Ballot Unit and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) for 14 selected EVM sets pertaining to Kolathur constituency .
During checking and verification by Mr. Elango, grave and alarming irregularities came to light. Mr. Elango immediately wrote to the District Election Officer informing him of these grave lapses.
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