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As the opposition sharpens its attack on law and order and power cuts, the bypolls in the remaining five constituencies will show whether those issues resonate with voters
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay.
Chief minister Joseph C Vijay’s district tours have become a bone of contention in Tamil Nadu politics, with the DMK and the AIADMK accusing the ruling party of leveraging governance as a path to drive a political campaign ahead of bypolls.
Earlier this week, Vijay visited Pudukottai and Erode districts. He is now scheduled to be in Ambasamudram on November 14 to celebrate Children’s Day. Both opposition parties have repeatedly criticised the visits, alleging that the TVK is concentrating on constituencies that will soon face bypolls and that the trips are aimed more at campaigning for the party than at real governance.
DMK president MK Stalin has called the TVK a “weak government”. He alleged that it is targeting his party’s leaders, including KN Nehru and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, because they are from Trichy, where the TVK is eyeing the bypoll. The DMK has said it will not be cowed down by raids on its leaders or by their arrest.
The AIADMK has also hit out at Vijay’s latest tour, though the party has its own wounds.
Several of its legislators, including former ministers such as C Vijayabhaskar, quit as AIADMK MLAs and joined the TVK. With their seats now vacant, the bypolls are a survival test for Edappadi K Palaniswami and the AIADMK, especially as the TVK now claims to be the “new AIADMK” and likens its leader to MGR.
What makes the bypoll debate more intriguing is the entry of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator Seeman, who has announced that he will contest the Ambasamudram bypoll and hinted that he could accept the support of the Dravidian parties. Asked whether the DMK would back Seeman, Stalin neither rejected the proposal nor endorsed it, choosing instead to buy time. That ambiguity is what makes Vijay’s November 14 visit to the constituency significant.
Meanwhile, TVK leaders have reiterated their pitch that the DMK and the AIADMK want to join hands and topple the Vijay government with the help of the BJP. TVK MLA Mustaffa alleged that the AIADMK offered him Rs 60 crore to Rs 70 crore to vote against the government ahead of the no-confidence motion. The AIADMK has dismissed the statements as “baseless”.
The stakes are high for the TVK, which still lacks a majority on its own and depends on allies to run the government. As the opposition sharpens its attack on law and order and power cuts, the bypolls in the remaining five constituencies will show whether those issues resonate with voters, or whether the Vijay magic will carry on for the next five years. Whichever way the votes fall, the results will shape the balance of power in the Assembly and set the tone for the opposition’s strategy.
About the Author
Poornima Murali, Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, has reported for over a decade on civic and political issues in Tamil Nadu. She has been helming the Chennai bureau for the channel for yea…Read More
November 05, 2026, 3:20 PM IST
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