Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan, who has been backed by the ruling DMK, on Thursday won the Erode East Assembly bypoll in western Tamil Nadu, defeating Thennarasu of the AIADMK by a huge margin of 66,233 votes.
Elangovan, a former Union Minister of State, polled 1,10,516 votes, to retain the seat that had fallen vacant following the untimely death of his son Thirumahan Everaa. This was the first bypoll since the Assembly elections of 2021.
Setback for Palaniswami
Thennarasu was fielded under by the AIADMK under the leadership of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol after the Supreme Court’s intervention in his dispute with ousted leader O Panneerselvam. However, he got only 43,923 seats. For Palaniswami, the result was a setback considering the poor show in the western region, which is considered his home turf.
'Dravidian model'
DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin declared that the voters had given a massive mandate for the continuation of the “Dravidian model” of government. The chief minister was of the view that the result had laid the foundation for the victory of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Stalin accused Palaniswami of making below-the-belt and uncivil remarks, “forgetting his status”, during the campaign.
Stalin, who on his birthday had given a call for forging a national level opposition alliance with the Congress as a constituent, reiterated that the next Lok Sabha polls would be about “who should not be in power”.
Palaniswami blamed the electoral loss on money power and said democracy has been murdered.
