In a major legal and political setback for the DMK, the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition filed by party president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The court’s dismissal leaves Babu’s victory fully intact, marking a historic turning point in Chennai’s regional politics after Stalin’s three-term dominance in the constituency. The petition sought a 100 per cent physical verification and counting of VVPAT slips in the Kolathur Assembly constituency. Stalin had formally challenged the election victory of TVK MLA VS Babu in the 2026 Tamil Nadu state assembly polls, alleging widespread voting irregularities and demanding a complete recount.
In his petition, Stalin alleged irregularities in the voting process. He sought re-verification of all voting machines used in the constituency. Stalin also asked for a recount of votes and sought a declaration that Babu’s election be declared void. He wanted the court to declare him the winner of the Kolathur seat.
He claimed that verification of 14 EVMs and VVPAT machines had revealed discrepancies.
“I have won only with our leader. Earlier reporting noted: Madras HC dismisses MK Stalin’s plea challenging Vijay team’s Kolathur victory The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition filed by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin to order counting of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips of the Kolathur assembly constituency, and to consequently declare him the returned candidate after nullifying election of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA VS Babu. Earlier reporting noted: On Monday, the bench had reserved its orders after hearing the arguments advanced by senior counsel Kapil Sibal for Stalin and senior counsels G Rajagopal and Dama Seshadri Naidu for the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Stalin had represented Kolathur three times and was seeking a fourth consecutive victory from the constituency. Babu attributed his victory to TVK chief Vijay and his connection with local voters. He also pointed to the desire for change among people in Tamil Nadu. Our leader’s face is the face of Tamil Nadu. People wanted a change, and they have changed this. I was born and brought up in that area. We know the pulse of people. It’s we who made him (MK Stalin) enter Kolathur. He doesn’t know anyone in Kolathur. Whether he is CM or MLA, he should mingle with the local people first.
However, he lost the seat to Babu of the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. Babu won by a margin of 8,795 votes. After the result, Stalin thanked voters and noted that the DMK alliance had secured more than 1.54 crore votes, with a 3.52 per cent difference from the winning party.
People are watching it,” VS Babu told ANI. Earlier reporting noted: A bench of chief justice SA Dharmadhikari and justice G Arul Murugan said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister’s plea was “not maintainable”.
