India, Oct. 9 -- Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay, has won the Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly by-elections, triggering a war of words between the ruling party and the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Reacting to the results, Vijay targeted the DMK, saying the electoral victory was a vote against "defamatory speech aimed at women". DMK president M K Stalin, meanwhile, termed the bypolls a "blatant murder of democracy" in a social media post.

Stalin also described TVK's win as a "temporary victory for betrayal" and claimed that the downfall of "false image politics" had begun.

Vijay's remarks came amid a controversy over comments made by Stalin during the Dharapuram bypoll c...