Remarks attributed to DMK leader MK Stalin regarding TVK's Dharapuram by-election candidate Sathyabhama drew a response from the ruling party, with its members contending that the comments amounted to body-shaming of a Dalit woman and pressing for a public apology.
During a visit to Dharapuram ahead of the bypoll, Stalin directed criticism at the TVK, alleging that the party had engaged in inducing defections and had orchestrated a division within the AIADMK. Sathyabhama, who had taken the Dharapuram seat under the AIADMK banner at the most recent Assembly election before vacating it a few weeks afterwards and moving across to the ruling TVK, also drew his attention. TVK has fielded her as its candidate in the bypoll.
Addressing allegations that money changed hands in connection with the political defection, Stalin remarked that opponents had taken to calling the candidate in question "Suitcase-Bhama" — a label, he noted, that reflected their own characterisation of someone they viewed as having acted against the truth. One more name attached to the roster is Somersault Bhama.
The remark about Sathyabhama drew a response from TVK. Arun Raj, who holds the posts of TVK leader and Health Minister, put forward the position that a remark made by Stalin about Sathyabhama constituted a slight against women and the Dalit community, characterising it as body-shaming. A formal apology from the DMK chief is what the party has put forward as its stated requirement.
Unverified claims of political vote-buying have placed TVK's leadership under scrutiny, forming part of the wider dispute now unfolding around the party. TVK had entered office on a platform of clean administration and accountable governance.
Accusations of "scientific horse-trading" have been directed at the ruling party by both the DMK and the AIADMK, with attention drawn to six sitting AIADMK legislators — a group that included former ministers — who gave up their assembly seats in the period after the election and subsequently moved to align with the TVK. Of the vacancies that resulted, only Dharapuram and Madurantakam have been scheduled for bypoll contests. For those constituencies, TVK put forward legislators who had previously held the seats under the AIADMK banner during the Assembly poll.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam pushed back against horse-trading accusations, taking the position that a sitting legislator who steps down from office and moves to a different party does so within their rights and therefore falls outside the scope of anti-defection provisions.
More than 20 AIADMK members who had split from their party voted alongside the ruling coalition when the TVK minority administration faced a confidence vote, a development that drew fresh attention to the political dynamics at play. Rival politicians have disputed how those resignations came about and why the affected lawmakers subsequently switched allegiances, whereas TVK officials hold that each member acted of their own accord and within the bounds of the law.
Seeking a response from the party over the controversy surrounding Stalin's remarks, a television news outlet contacted a number of DMK representatives. No response had been issued by the party by the time the report was filed.
