TVK set to get first Rajya Sabha seat as ECI announces Tamil Nadu bypoll

CHENNAI: Ruling TVK is set to send its first member to the Rajya Sabha as the Election Commission announced the bypoll for the lone Tamil Nadu seat vacated by former AIADMK minister C Ve Shanmugam. TVK is expected to win the seat comfortably.

C Ve Shanmugam resigned from the Rajya Sabha on May 7 after winning the assembly elections from Mailam constituency. His Rajya Sabha term was originally scheduled to continue till June 29, 2028.



The Election Commission on Friday said voting for the RS seat would be held on June 18. While the last date for filing nominations is June 8, and the last date for withdrawal is June 11. Counting of votes will take place at 5 pm on June 18 and the election process will be completed before June 20, according to a press release from Election Commission of India (ECI).

Since the election is for only one Rajya Sabha seat, the candidate backed by the party or alliance commanding majority support in the TN Assembly is expected to win under the proportional representation system.

TVK currently has 107 MLAs, making it the single largest party in the Assembly. Its strength rises to 119 with the support of Congress, VCK and Left parties, while backing from the SP Velumani-CV Shanmugam faction takes the government’s support base to 144 MLAs.

Political analyst P Srinivasan said the choice of TVK’s first Rajya Sabha nominee would be watched closely as Upper House seats had played a key role in alliance negotiations before the 2026 Assembly elections.

“In both the NDA and the DMK-led alliance, Rajya Sabha berths were used as part of pre-poll power-sharing arrangements,” he said, referring to PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss getting a berth in the NDA camp and DMDK’s LK Sudhish and Congress leader Christopher Tilak being accommodated in the DMK-led alliance. “Now the question is whether Vijay uses the seat to retain allies like Congress or VCK, or rewards a functionary from within TVK and signals that the party has entered a new phase politically,” he added.