Voting begins in two Tamil Nadu Assembly by-elections

Voting began at 7 a.m. on October 6 in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by-elections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, an early electoral test for the governing Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Counting is scheduled for October 9, with results not yet reported. The Election Commission’s schedule says counting will begin at 8 a.m. The two contests are being watched as the first major electoral test for Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and his party since TVK formed the state government. The seats became vacant after their former AIADMK representatives resigned and joined TVK, which is now fielding both as its candidates: K. Maragatham Kumaravel in Madurantakam and P. Sathyabama in Dharapuram. In Madurantakam, polling was taking place at 285 stations. The Election Commission reported turnout of 15.99% by 9 a.m. The constituency has 213,788 registered voters, according to the same report. No comparable early turnout figure for Dharapuram was provided in the available reporting. Sathyabama said after voting in Dharapuram that she expected to win by one lakh votes. That was her prediction, not a reported result.