One-Vote Election Victory Upheld
Madras High Court Upholds TVK MLA's Controversial One-Vote Election Victory
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The Madras High Court rejected DMK leader K.R. Periakaruppan’s election petition challenging TVK MLA R. Seenivasa Sethupathy’s one-vote victory in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. Sethupathy won Tirupattur with 83,375 votes to Periakaruppan’s 83,374. Periakaruppan argued that a postal ballot intended for his constituency was mistakenly sent to another constituency with the same name and rejected, potentially changing the result. The court allowed Sethupathy’s application to dismiss the petition, accepting that the challenge lacked sufficient grounds; his counsel also argued that constituency identifiers made the alleged mix-up highly implausible.
Key Points
1
Periakaruppan alleged a broader postal-ballot counting discrepancy: 2,276 postal ballots were polled, but only 2,275 were counted; he said 306 were rejected and 1,969 were treated as valid.
2
Before the final ruling, Periakaruppan sought a recount and video footage of the mandatory postal-ballot reverification. A High Court vacation bench temporarily barred Sethupathi from participating in floor motions, but the Supreme Court stayed that interim order, reportedly calling it “atrocious.”
3
Sethupathi sought dismissal under Order VII Rule 11(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, arguing the petition disclosed no cause of action and omitted material facts required by the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
4
Periakaruppan had won the Tiruppattur seat in four successive elections—2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021—before losing to Sethupathi in 2026.
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