Not holding bypolls in Tamil Nadu will deprive lakhs of people of elected representatives: CM Vijay tells Madras High Court
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has petitioned the Madras High Court to vacate a stay on by-elections for five assembly constituencies. He argues that the delay leaves thousands of citizens without democratic representation and suggests the litigation is a proxy war by defeated candidates.
Why it matters
The case highlights the tension between legal challenges to election results and the democratic necessity of maintaining active representation for the electorate.
The non-conduct of bye-elections to five Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu for an indefinite period will deprive several lakhs of people in those constituencies of democratically elected MLAs to represent their interests, causes, and grievances, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has told the Madras High Court.
The submission has been made in a counter affidavit served upon advocate V.R. Shanmuganathan, representing public interest litigation petitioner K. Venkatachalapathy of Tirunelveli, who had obtained an interim stay on July 10, 2026, on the conduct of bypolls to the Tiruchi East, Perundurai, Ambasamudram, Viralimalai, and Karur constituencies.
Urging the court to vacate the stay, the Chief Minister said that not conducting the bypolls may benefit the individuals who had lost the polls and filed election petitions with respect to those constituencies, but it would ultimately end up causing great harm to the voters who would go unrepresented in the Legislative Assembly.
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