'Suitcase Bama': TVK drags Stalin to the Election Commission over remarks on woman candidate

With two days to go for polling in two Tamil Nadu Assembly bypolls, the Dharapuram campaign has descended into a row over personal remarks. The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has filed a formal complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu against DMK president and former chief minister M.K. Stalin, alleging he made derogatory, body-shaming remarks about the party's woman candidate. TVK general secretary for election campaign management Aadhav Arjuna filed the complaint, dated October 3. It alleges that Stalin, while campaigning in Dharapuram on October 2 for the DMK candidate Sukanya, referred to TVK candidate P. Sathyabama with nicknames including Petti Bama (Suitcase Bama) and Palti Bama (Somersault Bama), and said he did not know how she managed to perform a somersault with that kind of appearance. The remarks, the complaint says, were widely telecast across visual and social media. Arjuna's complaint argues the remarks ridiculed Sathyabama's physical appearance and had nothing to do with her policy, programme, public record or political position. It cites Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 1998, and alleges a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, which requires parties and candidates to refrain from language repugnant to the honour and dignity of women. The complaint further alleges that such body-shaming remarks against women had become a regular practice of the DMK, particularly by Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin. TVK ministers have demanded an apology. Minister Sengottaiyan questioned in a post on X whether the remarks could be called election campaigning or amounted to an offensive attempt to ridicule women, alleging a pattern of disrespect towards women within the DMK and accusing Stalin of shifting positions to suit political convenience. Minister Arun Raj condemned what he called humiliating words used against the TVK candidate at a campaign programme. The controversy has shifted the bypoll's focus from local issues to personal confrontations, with Sathyabama herself calling the remarks an insult to women in politics. Neither Stalin nor the DMK had issued a public response to the specific allegations at the time of publication. The two bypoll seats vote on October 6, with counting on October 9.