00:00All eyes on the Tamil Nadu twin bi-poll results as we speak.
00:02The results of the bi-elections in Madhuran Takkam and Dharapuram will be declared today
00:08with counting of the votes already beginning at 8am at the designated counting centres.
00:13Postal ballots will be counted first, followed by votes recorded through EVMs.
00:17For the TVK, the contest is party's first major electoral test after coming to power,
00:22putting its organisational strength and voter appeal under the spotlight.
00:25For the DMK, however, the battle presents an opportunity for MK Stalin to stage a comeback and reclaim lost ground.
00:32Meanwhile, the AADMK faces a crucial test of its electoral strength under Adapadi Palaniswamy.
00:38The turnout figures also point to a notable decline compared with the previous Assembly election.
00:43Madhuran Takkam recorded 86.26% voter turnout in the bi-polls,
00:49nearly 7% lower than 93.22% recorded in the Assembly elections.
00:55Dharapuram for itself recorded 80.30% compared with 89.89% in the Assembly elections.
01:03A decline of as much as nearly 9.5%.
01:07These are major declines that we have seen in the voter turnout.
01:10Remember, defections triggered the bi-polls as we were mentioning earlier in both seats
01:14because both Maragattam Kumarawal and P. Satya Bama, who had won the two seats on AADMK tickets in the 2026
01:23Assembly polls,
01:24have resigned from the party and joined the TVK now.
01:28So whether people restore their faith in these candidates or they come out to opt out for a different party
01:35or they stand with the previous party itself,
01:38the party's ideology matters more to them, that is, of the AADMK, that is something we will keep you updated
01:46with.
01:46And we will also understand once the bi-poll results are out.
01:50But for now, my colleagues, Aniga Kesev and Apoorva are joining us to bring us more details as they're tracking.
01:55They have been tracking the campaigns consistently and the counting has begun officially.
02:02Aniga, coming to you first, I would request you to definitely first, a very good morning to you
02:07and I would request you to tell us where exactly are you currently coming live from
02:11and what exactly have you seen throughout the high-stakes battle in both Dharapuram and the other seat that we're
02:20speaking of here.
02:21What exactly is it that you see the trend or the sentiments among the people have to suggest?
02:31Well, good morning to you as well.
02:33I'm reporting from the DMK office here in the Anna Ariwaleam.
02:37And I just want to show you, in fact, it's quite muted here, the DMK carders.
02:42Last time I remember when there was 2026 Assembly elections and on that day of counting, on May 5th,
02:49there was a huge crowd here just in the DMK office.
02:52All DMK carders had gathered early in the morning at around 6, 6.30.
02:56I saw so much celebration.
02:58But one, it's by polls, of course.
03:00And number two, I think the DMK is playing its cards very, very close.
03:03They really don't want to over-expect or over-show that enthusiasm.
03:06So therefore, we believe that it's only closer to the counting or when we know that the counting is going
03:14to end
03:14or if the DMK is leading is when the carders might really show up.
03:17So it's largely muted here in Anna Ariwaleam.
03:21But of course, in Madhur Antakam and Dharapuram, you know, more than everything for DMK,
03:25it's sort of an opportunity to make a comeback for, you know, to galvanize the carders at grassroot level
03:32and to have some sort of a moral win, a moral victory.
03:35Because after 2026 defeat, the morale in the DMK for some time was quite low.
03:40It was low in the grassroot level.
03:42Well, the fact that someone new entrant came, an actor came and swept away the elections
03:47did not really sit well with the DMK, which was the ruling party.
03:51So the morale was at its lowest.
03:53So therefore, the by-poles is an opportunity really for them to sort of make a comeback.
03:58In fact, some months back when I was here, I overheard DMK Neta tell his carders that
04:02their goal in this by-pole is to at least win 50% of the seats that go vacant.
04:07And that's about six, seven seats that was vacated by AIDMK MLAs.
04:10So this is an opportunity indeed for the DMK to sort of make a comeback and to prove to its
04:15carders
04:15that they still have relevance here in Tamil Nadu and that, you know, they are here to stay
04:20and that they are not leaving anywhere.
04:22So that's how important this by-pole is for the DMK.
04:25Both constituencies, of course, Madhur Antakam and Dharapuram.
04:28But both these constituencies were held by AIA DMK.
04:32Even Madhur Antakam, we could say that TVK or DMK could probably have an advantage.
04:36TVK lost only by around 2,000 votes.
04:39But in Dharapuram, the TVK lost by 34,000 votes and the DMK in second place lost by 16,000
04:45votes.
04:46So Dharapuram in the Kongunadu, I would say, is sort of a far-fetched chance for both the
04:51TVK and the DMK.
04:52AIA DMK might have a slight edge, but in Madhur Antakam, which is about a two-hour drive from
04:57Chennai, that Madhur Antakam is sort of a tight contest between the TVK, AIA DMK and the DMK.
05:05So therefore, this by-pole remains all the more a crucial litmus test for the TVK government
05:11to sort of really figure out how much of Vijay's governance was really accepted by the people
05:16of Tamil Nadu.
05:17Is the same Vijay frenzy still there?
05:20Will they still give him a chance?
05:22This by-pole is sort of the report card of sorts for Vijay's governance to really find out
05:27how much people have really accepted him.
05:28Absolutely.
05:29And Anaka, I think the question will also remain with regards to whether people have
05:35their faith in the candidate there, because they're all AIA DMK candidates that we're
05:41speaking of in either of the seats, Madhur Antakam or Dharapuram, or is it the AIA DMK ideology
05:48that is what brought people's trust in the first place with these candidates and hence helped
05:55them win the elections earlier in the year?
05:57So that's also a question that we're looking at here that will be answered at the same time.
06:02On that note, let me, Anaka, do stay back with us.
06:04Let me quickly bring in Apoorva into the conversation here.
06:06Apoorva, very good morning to you.
06:08And firstly, do help us with where exactly you are at this given point as you speak.
06:12And how have you viewed the by-polls so far?
06:16It's been, as we were mentioning earlier as well, quite a fierce contest with a lot of
06:21controversial campaigning that's also taken place.
06:24Jibes, altercations, counter-allegations, counter-allegations coming in from different
06:30parties, personal attacks taking place between the candidates.
06:34So a lot has happened in the run-up to the by-polls itself.
06:37Ultimately, what has the public sentiment across these two constituencies helped you
06:42understand with regards to their mindset?
06:45Is it a change of mind and a little sway towards the TVK?
06:48Or do you see them still holding on to their faith with the AIADMK, that is?
06:58Well, first of all, Wannakam, good morning, Shriya.
07:01In fact, we're just reporting live from outside the TVK's Paniyut office over here.
07:05Most importantly, the things that we are expecting from these by-elections will be the people's
07:11reactions.
07:11We've seen the kind of massive sweep that the TVK had had during the 2026 by-elections.
07:18But the interesting thing to see and to look out for will be what will be the results that
07:23will come out of these by-elections there.
07:25Four months into the TVK's governance here, we already see MLAs who had resigned and they
07:30had jumped, shipped to the AIADMK.
07:33Both these candidates, be it from Tarapuram or from Madhuran Thakam constituency as well,
07:38we've seen both the AIADMK MLAs who had won with a massive victory in both these constituencies,
07:44resigned from the AIADMK and deflect to the Tamil Nadu, which is the Tamil Nadu chief minister
07:50and TVK chief Vijayas party as well.
07:53And that in a way has not gone down well with the public because there have been, ever since
08:00the 2026 election results had come out, we had seen several kind of, you know, mudslinging
08:06that had been going on in terms of political leaders going ahead and taking a jive at the
08:12TVK.
08:12And also the allegations, the horse trading allegations that had come up.
08:16And this has been a set narrative throughout these by-elections, be it campaigning that
08:21took place by the AIADMK, Serapati K.
08:23Pandya Swami, the general secretary of the party, or be it the DMK's, you know, leader
08:28of opposition there, Udeni D.
08:29Stalin or DMK chief M.
08:31K.
08:31Stalin as well.
08:32The rhetoric has been the same, which is that there have been a lot of deflections.
08:37MLAs who had jumped ship to the TVK, one, because of horse trading allegations that
08:42have surfaced, and two, because of so far politics that had come out.
08:46And that's what one of the statements that were made by the opposition were, which is
08:50that TVK has engaged in cash for MLA, the first of the kind that was seen by Indian politics
08:57and that to none other than led by TVK chief Vijay.
09:00And that's the narrative that had been set for this by-elections by the opposition, including
09:05the AIADMK, DMK, the Dravidian parties, as well as the PGP.
09:09And that's the narrative that we had also seen during the campaigning as well.
09:13However, it will be interesting to see.
09:15We had gone down to Darapuram and we had given an extensive coverage wherein what we
09:20were learning was, you know, when it comes to the Darapuram by-elections, it was mostly
09:24the betrayal that was still reflected in the voices of the public there who were speaking.
09:30The point here to note is that Darapuram, when it comes, it goes down to the kind of
09:36caste politics that takes the major factor when it comes to Darapuram.
09:40Whereas when you go to Madhuranthakam, it's a mixed bag of, say, the Gen Z voters, the
09:45voters from young and old going ahead and voting.
09:48So Madhuranthakam, you know, the TVK might have a sway in terms of numbers there.
09:54But when it comes to Darapuram, it still remains difficult because of the caste factor.
09:59And most importantly, the Kunku belt there in Darapuram, all of those, you know, public
10:05that we have spoken to, they have said that, yes, there is an unnecessary by-elections that
10:11this has, you know, come up.
10:12And that not only at the, forget the fact that this has come up at the cost of the exchequer
10:17or the public exchequer there.
10:18But also the second point being that why this by-election has come up so early and more
10:25importantly, why was there a need for the candidates to jump ship and for the TVK to even go ahead
10:30and feel these same candidates.
10:32Yes, the by-elections are necessary given that the MLAs have deflected to the TVK.
10:37But is it necessary that this all, the hum and the bust that was going on, the TVK chief
10:43and Tamil Nadu chief minister when he was campaigning in Darapuram, there was a lot of public that
10:48came in.
10:48But interestingly enough, most of the public that came were public, who were transported
10:53from across districts to Darapuram, while the public of Darapuram still remained in a
10:58sense of anger.
10:59So definitely we are seeing a mixed bag when it comes to the election results in this,
11:04both Darapuram and Madhuran Thakam, given that Maragadam Kumravel as well as Satya Bama,
11:09both of them have been AI-ADMP.
11:10At this point, it's a mixed bag of sentiments, Pulva.
11:13That's the sense I'm picking up from what you have to say, that there are questions, of course,
11:18mounting at the same time as to, yes, of course, it's just been a few months that an election
11:23took place, the government came into place after all of that number game that went out.
11:27So then why did these two candidates feel the need to jump the ship in the first place?
11:31And why is it that they have been fielded again from these very seats?
11:35That's a question many might be asking.
11:37While on the other side, that also comes out to be a strength, because if these are the
11:41same candidates that have won the elections, there is a certain faith that people have in
11:45them from these seats.
11:47So maybe that is what the TVK also had in mind when fielding them from these very seats at
11:54this given point up against the AI-ADMK and the DMK.
11:57We will get a better idea of which side the voter sentiment is swaying at this point, while
12:04the numbers start coming in, the early trends start coming in.
12:07But at this point, let's take you through one aspect that's very clear to us in terms of
12:12a number analysis.
12:14What is it?
12:14That is the voter turnout.
12:16And this will take you through for both seats at this given point.
12:19Speaking of Tamil Nadu, Madhuram Thakkam, the voter turnout has seen a reduction by 7% roughly.
12:27Because during the bi-poll, it stood at 86.26%, while during the assembly elections earlier
12:32in the year, it was 93.22%.
12:35While if we speak of Dharapuram, it's a different situation.
12:40Why?
12:41Because there is a higher drop that we are speaking of.
12:44It's a 9.5% drop.
12:47In the bi-polls that we saw, the voter turnout has been recorded at 80.30%.
12:53But this number was at 89.89% when the assembly elections were taking place.
13:00So what does this drop indeed mean?
13:03Who does it favor?
13:04All of those questions will be answered in a few hours as we continue to track the
13:08elections and the bi-poll elections in Tamil Nadu, the results of it.
