Madurantakam and Dharapuram, which are going to by-polls next month, have more than one feature in common. 

Both are reserved for Scheduled Castes. They are going to the by-polls for the first time. This election, in both the places, women nominees of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won.  The party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, expressing the confidence on Tuesday, said that his party would bag the seats this time, pointing out that his party had won in the two areas. 

In all these years, twice, the constituencies went vacant once but no by-polls took place, considering paucity of time for the general elections. 

In September 1966, former Minister B. Parameswaran, who was the grandson of Rettamalai Srinivasan and former Mayor of Chennai, died. He represented Madurantakam in the third Assembly (1962-67).  Five months after his death, the State had the general election. 

The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)’s V. Sivakami, who was elected from Dharapuram in 2001 and later turned a dissident legislator, quit the post of MLA in January 2006, four months before the Assembly poll.