Tamil Nadu CM Vijay Floor Test: TVK has suffered a setback before Chief Minister Thalapathy Vijay wins the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The High Court has barred the TVK candidate, who won by just one vote, from participating in the Assembly proceedings.
Published: May 12, 2026 2:31 PM IST
The Tamilga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) has suffered a setback before Chief Minister Vijay could win the trust vote in Tamil Nadu. The Madras High Court has barred the candidate who won by a single vote from participating in the assembly proceedings as an MLA. As such, the number of TVK MLAs will now be reduced to 107. Following today’s order of the Madras High Court, R Srinivasa Sethupathi, who won by a single vote, will not be able to participate in the floor test or other assembly proceedings for the time being. Sethupathi had defeated DMK leader KR Periyakaruppan.
Argument for not counting postal ballot votes
TVK leader R Srinivasan Sethupathi has won from the Tiruppattur Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu by defeating DMK candidate KR Periyakaruppan by just 1 vote. The Madras High Court on Tuesday barred TVK MLA R. Srinivasa Sethupathi, who won by a single vote, from attending the proceedings of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
DMK candidate and former minister KR Periyakaruppan had challenged Sethupathi’s victory from the Tiruppattur Assembly constituency. In his election petition, Periyakaruppan had claimed that a postal ballot was not counted during the counting as it was sent to the wrong assembly constituency, leading to his defeat. He also alleged other irregularities and discrepancies during the counting.
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Will Srinivasan Sethupathi participate in the floor test?
During the hearing, a bench of Justices Victoria Gauri and N. Senthilkumar admitted the petition, holding that a prima facie case was made out. The High Court restrained TVK’s winning candidate Sethupathi from voting or participating in any floor test, such as a motion of confidence, a motion of no confidence, a vote of confidence, or any other voting process related to testing the strength of the House, until further orders.
The election result in Tiruppattur, Tamil Nadu, made headlines across the country. Industrialist Anand Mahindra wrote that the result should be taught in schools to highlight the power of a single vote. Children will understand the importance of voting rights. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is scheduled to seek a vote of confidence in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on May 13.
