CHENNAI: The counting process in the Madurantakam Assembly by-election was halted briefly during the ninth round on Friday after the control unit at the seventh counting table stopped functioning.

Agents of the candidates protested against proceeding with the counting following the technical issue. The process resumed after a delay of around 10 minutes.

At the end of the eighth round, the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) continued to maintain its lead, with its candidate Maragatham Kumaravel securing 31,333 votes.

The DMK candidate, I Paranthaman, was in second place with 20,839 votes, while AIADMK candidate S Kanitha Sampath was trailing in third place with 17,989 votes.

The Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate had secured 1,069 votes, while the CPI(M) candidate had polled 866 votes at the end of the eighth round.