ERODE: The ruling DMK continued its electoral winning streak by emerging victorious in the Erode East by-election on Saturday by getting 1,15,709 votes, which was 74.7% of the total votes polled. DMK’s V C Chandhirakumar trounced Naam Tamilar Katchi’s M K Seethalakshmi by a margin of 91,558 votes. The NTK candidate, who had polled 24,151 votes, forfeited her deposit.
Since all the major political parties including the AIADMK, BJP, PMK and the DMDK had boycotted the bypoll, the by-election was seen as a direct contest between DMK’s Dravidian politics and NTK’s Tamil nationalist outreach.
A total of 46 candidates, including 44 Independents, were in the fray. NOTA (None Of The Above) grabbed third place with 6,109 votes.
Speaking to reporters after the counting, Chandhirakumar dedicated the victory to Chief Minister M K Stalin. “People have reposed faith in the DMK, the CM and deputy CM (Udhayanidhi Stalin),” he said.
Not a setback, we polled more votes than ’23 bypoll, says NTK candidate
Chandhirakumar was leading the contest from the start of the counting, polling 197 of 251 votes cast via postal ballots. He was followed by NTK candidate Seethalakshmi with 13 votes. At the end of the first round of EVM vote count,
Chandhirakumar got 7,837 votes, followed by Seethalakshmi with 1,081 votes. The DMK candidate maintained this lead till the end of round 20, winning the by-election by securing 1,15,709 (74.7%) votes. Seethalakshmi secured 24,151 votes (15.59%).
Earlier, the ECI had planned 17 rounds of counting. But three EVMs malfunctioned during leading to 20 rounds. The votes of the malfunctioning EVMs were counted by VVPAT units. The counting process concluded before 6 pm.
Speaking to reporters after the loss, NTK candidate Seethalakshmi said, “This result is not a setback for NTK, as we have secured more votes this time than during the previous bypoll in 2023, and the parliamentary election in 2024. Change will come in 2026, and the DMK will face a crushing defeat.” Responding to the query if party leader Seeman’s comments on Periyar affected the result, she said, “Criticism of Periyar has not impacted our vote-bank. Instead, we have received more votes. This is a recognition given by the people.”
Chandhirakumar said, “We have avoided campaigning on vehicles and engaged in door-to-door campaigns, meeting with the people in person. This is the Erode formula. This is why we have won by a huge margin. This victory will continue in the Assembly election too.”
Chandhirakumar had earlier won from the seat in the 2011 Assembly election on behalf of the DMDK.