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4 clusters · 14 sources · 33 days · First seen · Last updated

Kolathur election dispute and legal challenge

Overview

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party raised allegations regarding the integrity of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in Chennai’s Kolathur Assembly constituency. Initially, party officials claimed that approximately 30% of inspected machines showed discrepancies, such as improper sealing or missing address tags. While election officials dismissed these as “minor clerical errors” and maintained that vote counts were accurate, the DMK expressed dissatisfaction with the verification process.

Following these disputes, DMK president M. K. Stalin escalated the matter by filing a writ petition in the Madras High Court. The petition seeks to nullify the election of MLA V. S. Babu, representing the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party, and requests that Stalin be declared the elected representative. Stalin is requesting a 100% count of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips and the verification of all 286 machines used in the constituency.

The legal challenge cites technical malfunctions, specifically noting that a VVPAT unit failed during a mock poll and another ceased functioning during the inspection of 14 selected EVM sets. Stalin also alleges an inordinate three-month delay between his May 7 application for verification and the process commencing on July 29. Furthermore, the plea argues that improper labeling and sealing of ballot and control units caused a breach in the chain of custody, undermining electoral fairness.

On September 3, 2026, the Madras High Court dismissed the writ petition. The court rejected Stalin’s request for a 100 per cent counting of VVPAT slips and the re-verification of all EVMs. In the 2026 state assembly elections, V. S. Babu won the seat by a margin of 8,795 votes, preventing Stalin from securing a fourth consecutive term in Kolathur.

Entities

Madras High Court · Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam · DMK · Kolathur Assembly constituency · M. K. Stalin

Timeline

  1. 9 days ago

    [POLITICS] 7 sources
    Madras High Court dismisses MK Stalin's VVPAT counting plea

    The Madras High Court dismissed MK Stalin's petition seeking a 100% VVPAT slip count and a recount in the Kolathur constituency following his election loss to TVK's VS Babu.

  2. 12 days ago

    [POLITICS] 5 sources
    Madras High Court to hear MK Stalin's plea over Kolathur election disputes

    The Madras High Court will hear a plea by DMK leader MK Stalin challenging the Kolathur election results, alleging EVM failures and requesting 100% VVPAT slip verification.

  3. 19 days ago

    [POLITICS] 3 sources
    M. K. Stalin challenges Kolathur election results in Madras High Court

    DMK president M. K. Stalin has petitioned the Madras High Court to nullify V. S. Babu’s election in Kolathur, citing EVM and VVPAT irregularities and demanding a full VVPAT slip count.

  4. about 1 month ago

    [POLITICS] 2 sources
    DMK alleges EVM faults in Kolathur constituency and seeks court action

    DMK says about 30% of Kolathur EVMs are faulty, seeks legal remedy; officials call the issues minor clerical errors.

Sources

barandbench.com · darts.org.uk · dtnext.in · india.timesofnews.com · latestly.com · migraciokutato.hu · newindianexpress.com · news18.com · news9live.com · newsable.asianetnews.com · newstodaynet.com · thecommunemag.com · thecsrjournal.in · timesnownews.com

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history