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Voters have filed two more petitions, while defeated DMK candidates RD Shekar and Indigo Irudayaraj have filed two.
TVK flag, Madras High Court, and actor Vijay Instagram
Four election challenges have been filed in the Madras High Court contesting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder C Joseph Vijay’s election from the Perambur Assembly constituency.
Vijay's opponents, DMK leaders RD Shekar (Perambur) and Indigo Irudayaraj (Trichy East), have filed two of the petitions. Voters TN Lakshmi Narasimhan and S Dinesh have filed the other two petitions.
Sources told Bar & Bench that Irudayaraj has also sought for a stay of by election in Trichy East.
Vijay had fought 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, whereas Shekar polled 66,650 votes.
Vijay's victory in Perambur is now under court review thanks to the petitions. Election petitions are the statutory remedy to contest the election of a returning candidate and are tried by the High Court.
The returned candidate's status is unaffected by such petitions on their own. The election result continues to operate unless it is set aside by the Court after trial.
One of the most anticipated races in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections was Vijay's victory from Perambur. After entering politics through TVK, it was his first successful election.
Following Vijay's official party debut in February 2024, TVK ran in the Assembly elections. In its first Assembly election, the party achieved a significant electoral victory and became one of the State's major political groups.
The petitions were submitted in the midst of a larger political dispute in Tamil Nadu regarding purported attempts to steal TVK lawmakers.
Recently, TVK MLA N Ilaiyaraja said he was given ₹35 crore to sway his vote against the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker. Three people were first taken into custody as a result of the allegation. Five more people were detained in relation to the alleged poaching effort, according to later reports.
Allegations of horse trafficking have also been made by the opposition DMK and TVK in the political dispute. While the DMK has accused Vijay and MDMK leader Vaiko of attempting to entice MLAs away from its side, TVK has accused attempts to destabilize the Vijay-led government.
Since the Assembly elections, Vijay and TVK have also been involved in a number of election-related cases before the Madras High Court.
The Court has already dismissed complaints claiming anomalies in electoral affidavits produced by Vijay and other leaders. It had also handled with petitions expressing concerns about Vijay’s Form 26 declarations, alleged income suppression and TVK’s campaign activities.
