‘Stealing’ of candidates by ‘clean’ force caused byelection, alleges Kanimozhi
DMK leader Kanimozhi has accused the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party of poaching opposition candidates, leading to by-elections in Maduranthagam and Dharapuram. She criticized Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay for his campaign tactics and alleged negligence regarding public safety incidents.
Why it matters
This reflects ongoing political instability and intense rivalry in Tamil Nadu state politics ahead of by-elections.
DMK parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) alleged the byelections to the Maduranthagam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies had been necessitated by the “stealing of candidates by those [ TVK ] who had proclaimed themselves a clean force”.
“By its actions, the ‘clean’ force has become a ‘stealing’ force,” she said while campaigning for party candidate I. Paranthamen in the Maduranthagam constituency.
She said the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) should have stopped with forming the government after “appropriating” MLAs from political parties that were part of the DMK alliance. “But it has stolen people’s representatives and caused a by-election,” she said in an apparent reference to the resignation of AIADMK MLAs, who later joined the TVK and have entered the fray on its ticket now.
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