Now Reading: Madras HC extends bypoll stay, Stalin challenges Kolathur loss
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Madras HC extends bypoll stay, Stalin challenges Kolathur loss
The Madras high court on Monday extended its interim stay on notifying bypolls for five Tamil Nadu assembly seats until September 8, after the Election Commission said it would wait for pending…
The Madras high court on Monday extended its interim stay on notifying bypolls for five Tamil Nadu assembly seats until September 8, after the Election Commission said it would wait for pending election petitions to conclude. The court rejected the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government's plea to vacate the stay. The five constituencies are Tiruchy East, Viralimalai, Perundurai, Ambasamudram and Karur. Chief minister C Joseph Vijay had won the Tiruchy East seat and vacated it, necessitating a bypoll.
In a separate petition, former chief minister MK Stalin of the DMK filed an election petition challenging TVK candidate VS Babu's victory in the Kolathur seat. Stalin lost the seat, his stronghold for three terms, by 8,795 votes in the 2026 assembly elections. Citing alleged VVPAT malfunctions, Stalin has sought a recount and a declaration that his own election be upheld. The high court will hear both matters in September.
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The case is built on Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which allows any candidate or voter to challenge an election outcome in the high court. For the bypolls to be notified, the ECI must first see these petitions disposed of. With five constituencies hung up, including the CM's own former seat, the delay tests the TVK government's legislative majority. Meanwhile Stalin's petition under the same Act seeks a recount based on VVPAT mismatch allegations, a ground the Supreme Court has repeatedly examined. The high court will hear both matters on September 8.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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