CHENNAI: With the bypoll only a couple of days away, the largely rural Madurantakam (SC) constituency is witnessing three markedly different styles of campaigning by the principal contenders - ruling TVK’s K Maragatham Kumaravel, AIADMK’s S Kanitha Sampath and DMK’s I Paranthamen.
While the DMK relies on an old-fashioned door-to-door connect and hitting out at the TVK, AIADMK seeks to turn anger over Maragatham’s switch into votes. The TVK, meanwhile, banks on the ruling party’s achievements over the last 4 months and attacks on the Dravidian majors.
The ruling parties have been predominantly dominating bypolls in the state in recent years, with exceptions including the bypolls to 22 seats in 2019, when the DMK won 13 of them. The mood on the ground suggests Vijay’s TVK could be whistling come October 9, with a cross-section of voters hinting at a possible “change”.
Kishorkumar S (26), an IT employee, said they would like to vote for Vijay as a matter of “change”. “All these years, we have seen the rule of Dravidian parties as they have won 13 of the 17 polls in the constituency. Our constituency result doesn’t change the overall government. This time, I would choose TVK over the traditional parties,” he said.
A DMK functionary from Cheyyur, in charge of the campaign in and around Acharapakkam, said on the ground, he could visibly see men from the traditional DMK strongholds joining them for campaigning, while the women and youngsters from the same family opt for ‘whistle’ (TVK). “I am just frustrated, and have skipped the last two days of campaigning,” he said, wondering why they choose whistle over the DMK’s ‘rising sun’.
Meanwhile, the TVK is doing its bit, and has brought Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s roadshow right to the doorstep. On Friday, Vijay returned to Madurantakam for his second round of campaigning for Maragatham, travelling through around 35 villages and covering more than 50 km in over five hours. It was the first time Vijay had returned to the same Assembly constituency for a second round of campaigning during an election.
Waiting near Melmaruvathur to have a glimpse of her ‘hero’, M Kamatchi (45), a homemaker, could not hide her excitement. “Have you ever heard of a chief minister visiting villages for a bypoll?” she asked, and said she believes Vijay could deliver corruption-free governance and ensure the safety of women.
For the DMK, which is fighting without several of its former allies who are now with the TVK, the campaign has taken an old-fashioned grassroots route. Floral greetings rained as Paranthamen, a former Egmore MLA, campaigned through the narrow Sendivakkam village road. The crowd was a mix of hardcore party workers and cadres from the former allies, still supporting the DMK, despite their parties switching sides.
“I am a VCK cadre, but, for some reason, I could not support TVK. Just a few months ago, we were campaigning for the DMK and I don’t find a reason to oppose them now,” said Marimuthu (55), a farmhand from Ramapuram village.
For the AIADMK, the campaign centred on the mandate it says was taken away from the party. Their candidate Kanitha Sampath is another familiar face in Madurantakam who represented the constituency from 2011 to 2016.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who campaigned for Kanitha, alleged the bypoll had been “forced” on the electorate. His speeches concentrated heavily on Maragatham’s defection and criticism of the Vijay government.
With the CPM, a DMK ally during the April election, going alone, and the PMK, an AIADMK partner during the 2026 Assembly election, formally not extending support to any party for the bypolls, whom the voters will elect will have political implications.