CHENNAI: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) cleared its first electoral test barely five months after forming a govt in Tamil Nadu, winning two bypolls held on Oct 6. Though Madurantakam and Dharapuram presented different political terrains, the ruling party won both seats by fielding former AIADMK MLAs Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama, who switched sides barely 20 days after the April 23 Assembly election.Sathyabama won Dharapuram by a margin of 9,471 votes, while Maragatham secured Madurantakam by 19,241 votes. DMK, which finished third in both constituencies in April, moved up to the second place, while AIADMK, which had won both seats in the April assembly election, slipped to third.The results increased TVK’s strength in the 234-member Assembly from 107 to 109. The victories could give the three-year-old party greater confidence as it prepares for bypolls in five other constituencies. However, the extent to which the ruling party can convert its alliance support into additional votes remains a question.The twin victories did not come without an intensive campaign. The Oct 6 bypolls prompted the 51-year-old actor-turned-politician to step up his efforts, from driving a bullock cart and a tractor to sipping tea at a roadside shop with locals and plucking drumsticks, as he campaigned for his party candidates.In Madurantakam, Maragatham built a lead from the first round of counting and widened it in successive rounds, finishing with 70,916 votes. She defeated DMK candidate I Paranthaman, who secured 51,675 votes, by 19,241 votes. Maragatham, who won the seat as an AIADMK candidate in April with 69,284 votes, increased her tally by just 1,632 after switching to TVK. Her winning margin rose from 7,194 votes in April to 19,241 in October.Her victory was driven largely by the decline in support for her rivals. The DMK’s tally fell from 59,838 to 51,675, while AIADMK’s votes dropped from 69,284 to 46,431. The figures point to an erosion in support for both principal rivals, particularly AIADMK, which lost the seat after its former MLA switched to TVK.The result, therefore, presents a mixed picture for TVK. While Maragatham retained the seat under a different party banner and widened her winning margin, the modest increase in her vote count raises questions about the extent to which the ruling party’s status and its alliance with Congress, VCK, MDMK and IUML translated into additional votes.TVK leaders, including Aadhav Arjuna, had projected a victory margin of one lakh votes. The final tally fell well short of that claim, even as alliance leaders campaigned together in Madurantakam for the first time. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan had also urged his party’s supporters and cadres to work for Maragatham’s victory to ensure the continuation of the coalition govt.In Dharapuram, P Sathyabama won bypoll with a margin of around 9,471 votes, down from 16,727 votes in the April 23 Assembly election, when she contested on AIADMK’s two leaves symbol. The reduced margin indicates a tighter contest despite her retaining the seat under a new party banner.The results have consolidated TVK’s assembly position. But it needs nine more seats to achieve a simple majority in the 234-member assembly.