The Madras High Court has prolonged its interim stay on the notification of bypolls in five Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies, now set to last until September 8. This decision follows a statement from the Election Commission of India (ECI), which informed the court that it would withhold announcing elections until the pending election petitions concerning these seats are resolved.
Vijay won from both Perambur and Trichy East, but retained Perambur and vacated the Trichy East seat, necessitating a bypoll. Earlier on Monday, DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin filed an election petition in the Madras High Court challenging the victory of TVK candidate VS Babu from the Kolathur Assembly constituency. The five constituencies are Trichy East, Viralimalai, Perundurai, Ambasamudram and Karur. During the hearing, the ECI informed the Madras High Court that it had no plans to notify the bypolls until the pending election petitions were disposed of. Stalin has alleged malfunctioning of electronic voting machines and irregularities involving VVPAT machines. He has sought a recount of votes and asked the court to declare Babu’s election void and recognise him as the winner. The defeat ended his bid to retain the constituency for a fourth consecutive term. Following his victory, Babu credited TVK chief Vijay and his local connect for the result, saying voters were looking for a change in Tamil Nadu.
One of the constituencies affected by the order is Trichy East, which was won by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in the 2026 Assembly elections. Stalin, a three-time MLA from Kolathur, lost the seat to Babu by 8,795 votes in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Election petitions challenging the results in these seats are currently pending before the court.
