Four election petitions filed before Madras High Court challenging CM Vijay’s Perambur win

Four election petitions have been filed in the Madras High Court challenging Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder C Joseph Vijay’s election from the Perambur Assembly constituency.

One of the petitions has been filed by Vijay’s rival candidate, DMK leader RD Shekar. The other three petitions have been filed by voters Indigo Irudayaraj, TN Lakshmi Narasimhan and S Dinesh.

Vijay had contested the 2026 Assembly elections from two constituencies, Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East. He won from both seats, but later retained Perambur and resigned from Tiruchirappalli East.

Vijay won from Perambur in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections by a margin of 53,715 votes. According to the Election Commission of India, Vijay secured 1,20,365 votes, while Shekar polled 66,650 votes.

The petitions now place Vijay’s Perambur victory under judicial scrutiny. Election petitions are the statutory remedy to challenge the election of a returned candidate and are tried by the High Court.

Such petitions do not by themselves affect the position of the returned candidate. The election result continues to operate unless it is set aside by the Court after trial.

Vijay’s victory from Perambur was among the most closely watched contests in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. It marked his successful electoral debut after he entered politics through TVK.

TVK had contested the Assembly elections after Vijay formally launched the party in February 2024. The party made a major electoral breakthrough in its first Assembly election, emerging as one of the key political forces in the State.

The petitions have been filed against the backdrop of a wider political controversy in Tamil Nadu over alleged attempts to poach TVK legislators.

TVK MLA N Ilaiyaraja recently alleged that he was offered ₹35 crore to influence his vote against the speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The allegation led to police action, with three persons initially arrested. Later reports said five more persons were taken into custody in connection with the alleged poaching attempt.

The political row has also seen TVK and the opposition DMK trade allegations of horse trading. TVK has alleged attempts to destabilise the Vijay-led government, while the DMK has accused Vijay and MDMK leader Vaiko of trying to lure MLAs from its side.

Vijay and TVK have also faced a series of election-related proceedings before the Madras High Court since the Assembly polls.

The Court had earlier dismissed pleas alleging irregularities in election affidavits filed by Vijay and other leaders. It had also dealt with petitions raising allegations over Vijay’s Form 26 disclosures, alleged income suppression and TVK’s campaign practices.