'Sold out for cash': EPS launches attack against TVK as ADMK faces turncoat in Dharapuram bypoll

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its Dharapuram bypoll candidate P Sathyabama, accusing his party’s former MLA of betraying voters by resigning after winning on the AIADMK symbol and subsequently switching sides. Campaigning for the October 6 bypoll, Palaniswami alleged that Sathyabama had “sold out for cash” and asked voters to punish what he described as political betrayal.

The Dharapuram contest has acquired an added political edge because Sathyabama had won the seat as an AIADMK candidate in the April Assembly election before resigning and joining the TVK. Her resignation, along with that of Madurantakam MLA Maragatham Kumaravel, triggered bypolls in the two constituencies, with voting scheduled for October 6.

EPS targets former MLA

Palaniswami accused Sathyabama of disregarding the mandate she had received from voters and alleged that her move to the TVK was driven by personal considerations. His allegation that she had switched parties for money was a political charge made during the campaign and has not been established as fact.

The AIADMK chief sought to frame the bypoll as a contest over loyalty to voters, arguing that electors had backed Sathyabama under the party’s “two leaves” symbol. He urged them to reject her candidature this time and support the AIADMK nominee.

The attack echoed Palaniswami’s campaign in Madurantakam, where he had similarly targeted Kumaravel over her defection to the TVK. He has accused the ruling party of attempting to weaken the AIADMK by attracting its elected representatives rather than confronting it politically.

Defections fuel bypoll fight

Dharapuram and Madurantakam fell vacant after Sathyabama and Kumaravel resigned as MLAs and subsequently joined the TVK. Both had been elected on AIADMK tickets in the 2026 Assembly election, making their defections a central theme of Palaniswami’s bypoll campaign.

Palaniswami has accused Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s party of resorting to “horse-trading” and luring AIADMK legislators. The allegations form part of the increasingly bitter political confrontation between the two parties as campaigning gathers pace.

The AIADMK leader has also challenged Vijay to face his party “head-on” electorally instead of, as he alleged, attempting to strengthen the TVK through defections. TVK leaders have rejected the AIADMK’s attacks and questioned the Opposition party’s own political record.

October 6 showdown

Polling for the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly bypolls is scheduled for October 6, with the contests coming only months after the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. The resignations of the two AIADMK legislators and their subsequent move to the TVK have ensured that the circumstances behind the vacancies remain at the centre of the campaign.

Palaniswami has increasingly focused his campaign on what he describes as a betrayal of the voters’ mandate. The TVK, meanwhile, is seeking to retain the constituencies through the former AIADMK legislators, turning the bypolls into another political confrontation between the ruling party and the principal Opposition.