Perundurai

Madras High Court rejected an election petition challenging S Jayakumar's victory in the Perundurai Assembly constituency. Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy ruled that the petitioner, ND Venkatachalam, did not provide specific evidence for claims of corrupt practices or voter bribery.

Court officials noted the claims were too vague for a legal challenge. This decision is important because it clears a big problem for holding bye-elections in the constituency, which the court had previously stopped. The petitioner wanted to cancel the results and be declared the winner, but the court found no valid reason to act on these filings.

Madras High Court has extended its temporary hold on by-elections for five Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies. A final hearing is set for September 28. This affects Tiruchirappalli East, Karur, Viralimalai, Perundurai, and Ambasamudram.

Reason for the delay

These seats became empty after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay resigned from one of the two seats he won. Also, four other MLAs left their parties to join Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. K Venkatachalapathy filed a case, which led the court to pause the process until the election petitions are resolved.

Election Commission of India is going ahead with by-elections for Maduranthakam and Dharapuram. Voting for these two seats happens on October 6, and results will be announced on October 9.

Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed an election petition filed by DMK candidate Thoppu Venkatachalam. The petition challenged the win of S. Jayakumar in the Perundurai Assembly constituency. The court allowed a request to reject the plea.

Election status

S. Jayakumar first won the seat as an AIADMK candidate but later resigned and joined TVK. Election Commission of India had paused bypolls for five constituencies, including Perundurai, while waiting for these legal issues to settle. Although this court order is an important update, Election Commission of India might wait for any possible Supreme Court appeals before setting a date for a by-election.

Thoppu ND Venkatachalam resigned from DMK. The former Tamil Nadu minister said bad experiences during the last Assembly election caused his departure. He confirmed he left all party roles, including his primary membership.

Speaking to reporters in Erode, he said he is not retiring from politics. He knows internal fights happen in parties, but he said the situation in his former party went too far.

Future plans

About the upcoming Perundurai by-election, he has not decided whether to run. He said he might consider it if his supporters ask him to. He dismissed rumors about joining AIADMK or BJP right now. Local politics remain active as Madras High Court monitors the status of bypolls in several areas.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has asked the Madras High Court to lift the stay on by-elections for five vacant Assembly seats. These seats are Tiruchy East, Karur, Viralimalai, Perundurai, and Ambasamudram.

This legal issue started when a resident of Palayamkottai filed a case. The court then stopped the Election Commission from announcing the polls. The Chief Minister states that this delay leaves lakhs of voters without representation. He believes this goes against public interest.

Legal argument

In his court filing, the Chief Minister noted that he resigned from the Tiruchy East seat before anyone filed an election petition. He also pointed out that the current case has no real basis. The person who filed it is not even a voter from that constituency. The government now wants the court to dismiss the case. This would allow the election process to move forward under the Representation of the People Act.

Legal cases have paused assembly bypolls for five areas in Tamil Nadu. Madras High Court extended its temporary stay until September 8. Election Commission of India confirmed it will not call for elections while these cases are still in court.

Affected areas include Trichy East, Viralimalai, Perundurai, Ambasamudram, and Karur.

Review of election disputes

Court is looking into challenges against 2026 assembly results. This includes a petition from DMK leader MK Stalin about Kolathur constituency. Stalin has questions about the use of electronic voting machines and VVPATs. He wants a recount and a ruling that the original result was not valid.

State government asked for an early hearing to lift the stay. Still, the court decided to keep the order in place to settle all legal issues first.