TVK candidate P. Sathyabama, who won the Dharapuram Assembly constituency on an AIADMK ticket in the 2026 Assembly election and who subsequently resigned as MLA before joining the TVK, filed her nomination papers on Wednesday (September 16), the last day for filing nominations for the October 6 by-election.
Ms. Sathyabama was accompanied by TVK general secretary and Minister for Water Resources and Rural Development N. Anand, and Ministers K.G. Arunraj, K.A. Sengottaiyan, M. Vijay Balaji, S. Kamali and D. Logesh Tamilselvan. Members of the alliance parties also accompanied her.
Speaking to reporters, Ms. Sathyabama said she resigned as an AIADMK MLA because of the then proposed alliance between the AIADMK and the DMK, and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s alleged plan to become Chief Minister with the DMK’s support. She said this was contrary to the people’s mandate in favour of the TVK.
AIADMK candidate K. Bhanumathi, CPI candidate P. Lakshmanan and NTK candidate M. Karthika also filed their nominations on Wednesday. Independent candidates have also entered the fray.
DMK candidate S. Suganya (34) filed her nomination in the presence of DMK deputy general secretary and former Minister M.P. Saminathan. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Saminathan urged voters to reject Ms. Sathyabama for resigning after winning the seat on an AIADMK ticket. He also alleged that the TVK government had failed to deliver the benefits it had promised. Referring to the Left parties’ decision to contest the bypolls separately, he said the move would have no impact on the DMK. The CPI has fielded Mr. Lakshmanan in Dharapuram.
The Election Commission has scheduled the scrutiny of nominations for September 17, and the last date for withdrawal is September 19. Polling will be held on October 6 and counting on October 9. The by-election was necessitated after Ms. Sathyabama’s resignation.
Published – September 16, 2026 08:41 pm IST
