Maragatham Kumaravel romps home in Madurantakam, this time on TVK ticket
Maragatham Kumaravel has won the Madurantakam byelection as a candidate for the TVK party after resigning from the AIADMK. She secured a significant victory margin, promising to focus on local infrastructure demands like a new college and hospital.
Why it matters
The result reflects shifting political alliances in Tamil Nadu and the impact of party switching on local electoral outcomes.
Maragatham Kumaravel, two-time AIADMK MLA from Madurantakam (SC), retained her seat, contesting this time on a TVK ticket, as the byelection result was declared on Friday. She defeated her nearest rival, I. Paranthamen of the DMK, by a margin of 20,040 votes. Mr. Paranthamen polled 54,008 votes, followed by S. Kanitha Sampath of the AIADMK with 47,450 votes.
The byelection was necessitated by Ms. Kumaravel’s resignation from the Assembly barely three weeks into her second term. She, along with three other AIADMK MLAs, resigned and joined the ruling TVK. Thereafter, two other AIADMK MLAs had resigned and switched over to the TVK. As counting progressed, Ms. Maragatham built up a gradual lead, working up a margin of at least a thousand votes at the end of every round. Halfway into the process, she already had a lead of well over 11,000 votes never looking back thereafter..
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