Madras HC Rejects MK Stalin's Plea for Kolathur Recount and VVPAT Verification

The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition filed by DMK president and former Chief Minister M K Stalin seeking 100 per cent counting of VVPAT slips in the Kolathur Assembly constituency. In his plea, Stalin had urged the court to declare him elected after nullifying the victory of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA VS Babu, alleging widespread irregularities in the voting process.

In his petition before the court, Stalin claimed that an initial verification of 14 EVMs and VVPAT machines had revealed discrepancies. Citing these alleged issues, he had sought a comprehensive re-verification of all electronic voting machines deployed across the Kolathur constituency during the polling.

The petition further requested a complete recount of votes, asking the court to declare Babu's election void and name Stalin the rightful winner of the seat. However, the High Court declined to grant the relief sought and dismissed the writ petition.

Stalin lost his long-held stronghold of Kolathur to Babu in the 2026 Tamil Nadu state assembly elections, where the TVK candidate secured victory by a margin of 8,795 votes. Prior to the defeat, Stalin had served as a three-time MLA representing Kolathur but failed to retain the constituency for a fourth consecutive term.

Despite the electoral defeat, Stalin thanked voters, pointing out that the DMK alliance secured more than 1.54 crore votes overall, finishing with a narrow 3.52 per cent difference behind the winning party.

Following the declaration of the election results, VS Babu credited his win to TVK chief Vijay and his own personal ties to the constituency. Babu stated that the outcome reflected an anti-incumbency wave and the public's desire for political change across Tamil Nadu.

Babu remarked to ANI that he was born and brought up in the locality and understood the pulse of the electorate, adding that political leaders must connect directly with local residents.