2024 Lok Sabha polls: DMDK’s Vijaya Prabhakaran to withdraw election petition against Congress MP Manickam Tagore’s victory

The youth secretary of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), V. Vijaya Prabhakaran, has announced his intention to withdraw an election petition filed against incumbent Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president B. Manickam Tagore. Prabhakaran filed the petition in the Madras High Court in 2024, challenging Tagore's victory in the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency parliamentary elections.

In an application before Justice N. Sathish Kumar, Prabhakaran stated that he no longer wishes to pursue the litigation, as he now wants to focus on public life rather than continuing the case. The judge has instructed Prabhakaran to issue notices to all parties involved in the petition and to publish a notice in the official government gazette to determine if any other eligible person wishes to replace him in the challenge against Tagore's victory.

The Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituency saw a close three-way race between Tagore, Prabhakaran, and actor R. Radikaa Sarathkumar, who represented the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Tagore won the election with 3,85,256 votes, defeating Prabhakaran by a narrow margin of 4,379 votes. In his petition, Prabhakaran accused a returning officer, V.P.

Jeyaseelan, of succumbing to pressure from then DMK ministers K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarasu, and P. Moorthy to secure Tagore's election. He also alleged improper acceptance of nomination papers, electoral corruption, and other irregularities in the voting process. Tagore filed a separate application in 2024 to dismiss the petition and remove the allegations against him, arguing that the guarantee card did not constitute corrupt practices and that all charges were vague and did not warrant a trial. However, Justice Kumar decided to allow the petition to proceed to trial on March 4, 2025.