Bypoll-eve flashpoint: AIADMK sit-in at Dharapuram police station over detention of its functionary

DHARAPURAM — With two days left for the October 6 bypolls in Dharapuram and Madurantakam, the town's police station became a protest site on Saturday as AIADMK cadres staged a sit-in after the police detained the party's rural district secretary, Selvakumar. Party workers and former legislators gathered outside the Dharapuram police station, raising slogans and alleging that the police were acting in favour of the ruling TVK. The detained leaders were released after nearly five hours, following which the gathering dispersed. The flashpoint landed in the middle of an already overheated campaign. A sharp war of words has erupted between the DMK and the TVK over remarks made by DMK chief M. K. Stalin against the TVK's Dharapuram candidate, P. Sathyabama. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay publicly condemned the comments as personal mockery; the TVK lodged an official complaint with the Election Commission alleging a violation of the model code of conduct. The DMK defended the remarks as political commentary on Sathyabama's switch of party allegiance. Separately, AMMK general secretary T. T. V. Dhinakaran launched a stinging attack on the TVK government from Tiruppur, declaring that a TVK government would be a "curse" for Tamil Nadu — likening it to the El Nino weather phenomenon. Dhinakaran alleged that the Chief Minister was responsible for manufacturing the by-election, claimed Vijay had secured the backing of around 25 AIADMK MLAs through promises, and recalled that the AIADMK had won Dharapuram just four months ago in the Assembly elections. The election machinery is also under pressure from a petition by AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP I. S. Inbadurai, who urged the Election Commission to probe alleged cash distribution to voters in both constituencies. His complaint cited media reports that cash was distributed at Rettipalayam in the Acharapakkam union of Madurantakam on behalf of the TVK to favour candidate Maragatham Kumaravel, and alleged similar inducements across both seats. He asked authorities to preserve CCTV and broadcast evidence, register FIRs and intensify flying-squad surveillance. The Chief Minister's own campaigning added to the spectacle. Vijay travelled through Coimbatore to Dharapuram on Sunday for a second round of campaigning for Sathyabama, with police deploying around 2,000 personnel along his route. His September 30 rally for the candidate sprawled across roughly 54 acres, with QR-code entry passes, LED screens and a stage mounted on a bus. Both seats fell vacant after AIADMK legislators resigned in May 2026 — Sathyabama in Dharapuram and Maragatham Kumaravel in Madurantakam — and joined the ruling TVK, which has fielded both as its candidates. Polling is on October 6 and counting on October 9, and the result will be read as an early verdict on the TVK government.