In both Dharapuram and Madurantakam constituencies, the A.D.M.K. has suffered a shocking defeat by finishing in third place.
A.D.M.K. workers, who had been hoping to win at least in Dharapuram, are deeply disappointed. What is the reason for this crushing defeat for A.D.M.K.?
From the day by-elections were announced in the two constituencies, Dharapuram was seen as a constituency favorable to A.D.M.K. It was also said that the opposition to T.V.K. candidate Sathyabama, caste-based votes, and Edappadi Palaniswami’s campaign would help A.D.M.K. secure victory.

However, the AIADMK lost in both constituencies and has also come in third. In this situation, people in AIADMK circles say that “the lack of proper planning is the reason for this defeat.”
Those familiar with the matter say, ``From the very beginning, our general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami did not pay much attention to the Madurantakam constituency.
His entire focus was on the Dharapuram constituency. He believed he could win no matter what. Not only was Sathyabama announced as the candidate on behalf of TVK, but he kept saying that since she was facing opposition everywhere she went, victory was certain. But as the days went by, the situation changed.
Many functionaries from the AIADMK moved to TVK. They went around the entire constituency and gathered votes. Even though the field was in our favor, the functionaries did not work properly.
As soon as this information reached the General Secretary’s ears, he called the district secretary and blasted him, and also sent a team from Salem to get to work. But they could not match the local administrators.
Not only that, despite the opposition, TVK ministers and MLAs got down and worked. They gradually turned all the opposition to their advantage. The Chief Minister’s campaign has also helped on a huge scale.
Likewise, several former ministers from the DMK side campaigned at the micro level and collected votes. But here, many functionaries did not even go to the booths properly. They also did not coordinate and campaign properly with the functionaries who came from outside the area. Economically too, no one, starting with the general secretary, opened their wallets, which became a major setback,'' they said.

Further, when some others spoke, ''A huge amount of work has been done to ensure that the AIADMK should not win in these two constituencies,'' they said. Continuing to speak,
``Muthu Venkatesh, who was in charge of this constituency in the 2026 general election, along with several others including former MP Mahendran from this district, moved to the TVK with the blessing of Velumani. AIADMK functionaries were personally met by Sengottaiyan one by one.
That too had Velumani’s support. In addition, several former MLAs from the Kongu region, while remaining within the party, worked in support of the TVK.

Edappadi Palaniswami brought in people from Salem at the last minute, but it was of no use. If he had abandoned Madurantakam from the very beginning, then in Dharapuram the functionaries abandoned him. To tell the truth, they have betrayed his trust. Even if he had won in either of the two, he would have gone back to doing things his own way, so a huge amount of behind-the-scenes work must have taken place,” they say.
The two by-elections were seen from the very beginning as a sword hanging over the AIADMK leadership. Now the AIADMK has suffered a crushing defeat in both constituencies. In the days ahead, major rebellions within the party can be expected.
