CHENNAI: With the October 6 bye-elections just days away, the political heat has finally hit the unusually calm Madurantakam (SC) Assembly segment after the final list of candidates was announced on Saturday evening. Until then, there had been little sign of a bypoll mood taking hold in Madurantakam. But beneath the calm is a political equation that is far more complicated than the five-cornered contest on paper, though 27 candidates are in the fray.
Madurantakam, in Chengalpattu district, is a reserved constituency along the Chennai-Tiruchy (GST Road) corridor and is largely rural and semi-urban. The economy is agrarian, with paddy as the mainstay. It is known for the Madurantakam lake, one of the largest irrigation tanks in the district, on which farmers in the constituency depend.
A large share of the electorate comprises agricultural labourers, small and marginal farmers, and daily-wage workers. Many also commute to factories in the Chengalpattu-Singaperumalkoil-Oragadam industrial belt and the Sriperumbudur cluster for automobile, electronics and allied jobs.
The bypoll is a five-way battle, with the ruling TVK fielding former MLA Maragatham Kumaravel, the DMK fielding former Egmore MLA I Paranthamen, the AIADMK fielding former MLA Kanitha Sampath, the Naam Tamilar Katchi fielding K Janakiraman and the CPM fielding P Suganthi.
A large section of voters here continues to identify strongly with the AIADMK and its late leaders and former chief ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. Yet, the anger among some of these voters is directed less at the TVK (for taking away their former MLA K Maragatham Kumaravel) and more at the AIADMK for allowing an elected representative to resign from the Assembly, triggering another election.
“Why should the MLA resign after getting elected? We voted for her as an AIADMK candidate. If she wants to join another party, that is her decision, but why should people be made to vote again?” said P Bhuvana, a resident of Madurantakam.
The sentiment appears to be one of the defining undercurrents of the bypoll.
N Hari, another voter, said the constituency had not witnessed any major political mobilisation so far. “People are watching what is happening, but there is no anger on the streets. Many here have traditionally voted for the AIADMK because of MGR and Jayalalithaa. But they are asking why the party allowed the MLA to resign,” he said.
The absence of a dominant local issue appears to be working in favour of the TVK, at least among a section of voters who are willing to give the new government more time.
With the TVK-led government in power for just about four months, several voters said they did not see a major issue that had become sufficiently important to turn the bypoll into a referendum on its performance.
At the same time, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s personal appeal remains visible in conversations.
“People are watching Vijay. They have confidence in him and want to see what he does. There is no major issue here at the moment that has made people decide against him,” said R Krishnamoorthy, a voter.
The sentiment, however, is not uniformly positive for the TVK government. Some voters expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s functioning during its first few months, particularly over the conduct and statements of some ministers in the Legislative Assembly and comments directed at senior political leaders.
“People expected a change, but some of the things said by ministers in the Assembly have disappointed us. They should be more careful when speaking about senior leaders,” said M Santhanabharathi, another voter.
If the TVK has Vijay’s appeal, the DMK retains sympathy and the perception that its government had delivered, both in the constituency and across the state.
The DMK’s defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections is still fresh in the minds of some voters, who believe the party had done considerable work but nevertheless lost.
“The DMK had done good work for the constituency and for the state in the last five years. But, the party unfortunately lost the election. Some feel this bypoll is an opportunity to vote for the DMK again,” said S Pugazhenthi, a voter in the constituency.