# List of by-elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
By-elections to the [Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu-legislative-assembly) are single-constituency elections held to fill casual vacancies that arise between general elections when a member dies, resigns, or is disqualified. The [Election Commission of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/election-commission-of-india) (ECI) schedules them, and Section 151-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires that a by-election be held within six months of the vacancy unless the remainder of the member's term is less than one year.[1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026)
| Constituency (AC No.) | Date of poll | Reason for vacancy | Winner / outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ilayangudi (197), Thondumuthur (103), Cumbum (134), Bargur (78), Srivaikuntam (226) | 18.08.2009 | Casual vacancies in five constituencies | Counting 21.08.2009[2](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=50503) |
| Erode East (98) | 27.02.2023 | Casual vacancy during the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) | Held under the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) |
| Vilavancode | 19.04.2024 | Casual vacancy during the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) | Held under the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) |
| Vikravandi | 10.07.2024 | Casual vacancy during the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) | Held under the 2021 assembly term[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) |
| Erode East (98) | 05.02.2025 | Death of E.V.K.S. Elangovan[4](https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzGjJMI0%2FjETs7fjrM8lYn4mJFS24%2B6KLdZH1l7RiuKqHNMHLIYox6TMK3%2BhawwKFak8gAh89oMPUf2WfwOoBjDg%3D%3D) | Announced 7 January 2025, held alongside the Delhi Assembly election[4](https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzGjJMI0%2FjETs7fjrM8lYn4mJFS24%2B6KLdZH1l7RiuKqHNMHLIYox6TMK3%2BhawwKFak8gAh89oMPUf2WfwOoBjDg%3D%3D) |
| Madurantakam (35, SC) | 06.10.2026 (counting 09.10.2026) | Resignation of Tmt. Maragatham Kumaravel[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2307574&lang=2®=48) | Won by K. Maragatham Kumaravel (TVK)[6](https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcByeOct2026/index.htm) |
| Dharapuram (101, SC) | 06.10.2026 (counting 09.10.2026) | Resignation of Tmt. P. Sathyabama[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2307574&lang=2®=48) | Won by P. Sathyabama (TVK), margin +9,471[6](https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcByeOct2026/index.htm) • [1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026) |
## By-elections after the 2021 general election
The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a New Delhi-based election-watch organization that analyzes candidates' ECI affidavits, records four constituencies where by-elections were conducted during the 2021–2026 assembly term: Erode East on 27 February 2023 and again on 5 February 2025, Vilavancode on 19 April 2024, and Vikravandi on 10 July 2024.[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf) The second Erode East by-election was notified on 7 January 2025 after the death of the sitting member, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, and was held alongside the general election to the Legislative Assembly of Delhi.[4](https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzGjJMI0%2FjETs7fjrM8lYn4mJFS24%2B6KLdZH1l7RiuKqHNMHLIYox6TMK3%2BhawwKFak8gAh89oMPUf2WfwOoBjDg%3D%3D) As of 12 March 2026, seven seats stood vacant in the house: Valparai (SC), Gobichettipalayam, Usilampatti, Senthamangalam (ST), Alangulam, Orathanadu, and Bodinayakkanur.[3](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf)
## The October 2026 by-elections
After the May 2026 general election, in which [Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamilaga-vettri-kazhagam) (TVK) won 108 of 234 seats on 34.92% of the vote and formed a coalition government with Vijay sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 May 2026, a wave of resignations created a new set of vacancies.[7](https://thinkpolitically.com/2026-tamil-nadu-election-results/) **Origin of the vacancies.** Six of the seven post-election vacancies came from AIADMK members resigning their Assembly seats in the weeks after the government was formed; one member, Vijayabaskar, resigned under Article 190(3)(b) of the Constitution after defecting to TVK, with the resignation accepted by the Speaker.[8](https://tnelections.pages.dev/post/tamil-nadu-2026-by-election-seats) • [1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026) [Resignation](https://www.edgepedia.org/resignation) of a member on defection grounds is separately covered by the anti-defection provision, which disqualifies a member who voluntarily gives up membership of the party under whose banner they were elected.[1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026)
**Litigation before the schedule.** In July 2026 the [Madras High Court](https://www.edgepedia.org/madras-high-court) restrained the ECI from notifying by-elections in the constituencies where returned candidates had resigned, on a petition arguing that such vacancies were not "clear vacancies" for by-election purposes under Section 151-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951; the petition noted that if an election petition later unseated a returned candidate, two members could otherwise claim the same constituency at once.[9](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/78678581/) A Polldata analysis recorded that for five of the seven vacancies the ECI was barred from even notifying a by-election while the case was pending, and that resignation by a sitting member does not annul the 2026 result in that constituency.[8](https://tnelections.pages.dev/post/tamil-nadu-2026-by-election-seats)
**Schedule and results.** On 7 September 2026 the Commission announced bye-elections for 35-Madurantakam (SC) and 101-Dharapuram (SC) in [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu), together with seats in Puducherry and [West Bengal](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-bengal) and a parliamentary seat in Assam, with the gazette notification on 9 September 2026, nominations closing 16 September, the poll on 6 October 2026, and counting on 9 October 2026.[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2307574&lang=2®=48) Both Tamil Nadu seats were won by TVK candidates: K. Maragatham Kumaravel in Madurantakam and P. Sathyabama in Dharapuram, the latter with a margin of 9,471 votes.[6](https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcByeOct2026/index.htm) • [1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026) After these two wins, one results tracker placed the governing majority coalition at 123 seats.[1](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026)
## Why the same names recur
The vacancy table shows an unusual pattern in 2026: both notified Tamil Nadu seats were vacated by members who then contested the by-elections for their new party. Maragatham Kumaravel, whose resignation created the Madurantakam vacancy, was herself the TVK winner of that seat on 9 October 2026, and P. Sathyabama did the same in Dharapuram.[5](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2307574&lang=2®=48) • [6](https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcByeOct2026/index.htm) The other five vacancies remained outside the notified schedule, with the ECI barred from notifying by-elections in five of the seven constituencies while the Madras High Court case was pending.[8](https://tnelections.pages.dev/post/tamil-nadu-2026-by-election-seats)
## References
1. [Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2026 Results, ElectionsResults.in](https://electionsresults.in/assembly-elections/tamil-nadu/2026)
2. [Press Note, Schedule for Bye-Elections, 16 July 2009, Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=50503)
3. [Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2021: Analysis of Sitting MLAs, Association for Democratic Reforms (20 March 2026)](https://www.adrindia.org/sites/default/files/Tamil_Nadu_Assembly_Election_2021_Sitting_MLAs_Report_Finalver_Eng.pdf)
4. [ECI Press Note No. 170/2025, Schedule for bye-election to 2 Assembly Constituencies of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, 7 January 2025](https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzGjJMI0%2FjETs7fjrM8lYn4mJFS24%2B6KLdZH1l7RiuKqHNMHLIYox6TMK3%2BhawwKFak8gAh89oMPUf2WfwOoBjDg%3D%3D)
5. [Schedule for bye-elections to 05 Assembly Constituencies of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal and 01 Parliamentary Constituency of Assam, PIB, 7 September 2026](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2307574&lang=2®=48)
6. [Bye Election to Assembly Constituencies: Results October-2026, Election Commission of India](https://results.eci.gov.in/ResultAcByeOct2026/index.htm)
7. [2026 Tamil Nadu Election Results: Seats & Winners, ThinkPolitically](https://thinkpolitically.com/2026-tamil-nadu-election-results/)
8. [Seven Assembly Seats Remain Vacant: Resignations and Court Cases Explained, Polldata TN](https://tnelections.pages.dev/post/tamil-nadu-2026-by-election-seats)
9. [K. Venkatachalapathy vs The Election Commission of India, Madras High Court, 10 July 2026, Indian Kanoon](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/78678581/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › National and subnational elections outside the US and UK › Asian election events › South and Southeast Asian elections › Indian state and local elections*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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