Dharapuram (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 4 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C. Joseph Vijay concluded the final day of his second-phase campaign on Sunday, with a massive roadshow in support of party candidate P Sathyabama for the Dharapuram (SC) Assembly constituency by-election.
Following the roadshow, the Chief Minister departed from Dharapuram via helicopter for Coimbatore.
Expressing confidence in the party's prospects, Vijay remarked that the upcoming by-election would result in a "historic victory" for the party.
Later, State Minister Arun Raj and leader P Anand arrived at the resort where campaign managers were stationed. Minister Sengottaiyan, who was present, departed the venue without taking questions from the media.
Speaking to reporters on the massive turnout at the Chief Minister's roadshow, State Minister Arun Raj praised the public support for the party candidate.
"... Without spending a single rupee, this much crowd has come just to have a glimpse of our leader. It is really amazing... This election is going to be a historic victory for TVK, and we will win with a record margin of more than one lakh votes," Arun Raj said.
Earlier on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay hit out at DMK president MK Stalin over remarks made about TVK's Dharapuram bypoll candidate P Sathyabama during an election campaign meeting, accusing the former Chief Minister of making derogatory comments about a woman candidate.
In a post on X, Vijay strongly condemned Stalin's remarks and described the DMK as a "force of evil", while alleging that Stalin had mocked Sathyabama's physical appearance and spoken about her in an indecent manner.
"Under the guise of a by-election campaign public meeting for the Dharapuram constituency, the DMK, a force of evil, through its leader Mr MK Stalin, has conducted a meeting full of slander and indecency," Vijay said.
"Mr MK Stalin has derived sadistic pleasure by mocking the physical appearance and speaking with utmost indecency about our Dharapuram constituency candidate, sister Mrs Sathyabama," he added.
The Dharapuram bypoll, scheduled for October 6 with counting on October 9, was necessitated after AIADMK MLA P Sathyabama resigned in May 2026, just days after winning the seat on an AIADMK ticket in the 2026 Assembly elections. She subsequently joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and is now contesting as the TVK candidate.
Dharapuram is a Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency in Tiruppur district where Scheduled Castes constitute about a quarter of the population.
The bypoll has become a high-stakes battle. TVK has fielded P Sathyabama, DMK has fielded Advocate S Suganya, AIADMK has fielded K Bhanumathi, while CPI's P Lakshmanan and NTK's M Karthika are also in the fray.
The contest is seen as the first major electoral test for CM Vijay's TVK government, which currently does not hold an outright majority and needs to win both Dharapuram and Madurantakam bypolls to strengthen its position. (ANI)
TN CM Vijay holds mega roadshow in Dharapuram in support of candidate P. Sathyabama
