Udhayanidhi Stalin booked for allegedly involving minor in Dharapuram bypoll campaign

Tiruppur District Police on Sunday registered a case against Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin for allegedly involving a minor in an election campaign for the Dharapuram by-election.

According to police, Udhayanidhi, while campaigning near the Periyar statue in Dharapuram town on Saturday, called a minor boy onto a campaign vehicle and made him speak at the meeting. During his speech, the boy allegedly made remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

Police said the act violated Election Commission guidelines prohibiting the involvement of children in election-related activities. They also alleged that the child was made to make remarks insulting the Chief Minister.

Udhayanidhi, who is campaigning for the second time in Dharapuram, was in the Nochipalayam area seeking votes for DMK candidate Advocate S Suganya.

Addressing the rally, Udhayanidhi said that although the people had not elected the DMK in the previous election, the party had represented the Dharapuram constituency in the Assembly between 2021 and 2026.

The Dharapuram by-election is scheduled for October 6, with counting set for October 9. The poll was necessitated after AIADMK MLA P Sathyabama resigned in May, days after winning the seat in the 2026 Assembly elections. She later joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and is contesting the bypoll as the party’s candidate.

The Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency has emerged as a key electoral contest, with TVK fielding Sathyabama, DMK fielding Suganya and AIADMK fielding K Bhanumathi. CPI’s P Lakshmanan and NTK’s M Karthika are also in the fray.

The bypoll is being closely watched as a major test for the Vijay-led TVK government, which does not currently have an outright majority. A victory in Dharapuram and Madurantakam would strengthen the government’s position in the Assembly.

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