Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai (File Photo | Parveen Negi, EPS)

BJP to accompany AIADMK in boycotting Erode East Assembly polls; 'no benefit from this election,' says Annamalai

Alleging that the DMK government has been functioning against the Constitution, Annamalai said the people of the state have been tolerating the DMK government.
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CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: A day after the AIADMK and its ally the DMDK decided to boycott the by-election to the Erode East Assembly constituency, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP on Sunday announced that it too would boycott it. Since most of the opposition parties have decided to skip the by-election, it is likely to be a two-corner contest if the NTK led by Seeman announces its candidate on Pongal Day.

Announcing the decision, BJP state president K Annamalai said the decision to boycott this by-election has been taken after consulting the alliance parties in detail. “NDA’s objective is to unseat the DMK from power in the 2026 Assembly elections and to provide NDA government to the people,” Annamalai said.

Alleging that the DMK government has been functioning against the Constitution, Annamalai said the people of the state have been tolerating the DMK government. “During the 2023 by-election to Erode East constituency, the DMK violated the election rules and kept the voters under sheds. Since the NDA is working towards that, it does not want the people to be kept under sheds once again and hence the boycott,” he added.

“This is an election that can happen like a mirage, as there is no benefit from it and its results will not affect the 2026 Assembly elections. This will be an election that the ruling party can win by misusing the government machinery and putting a black mark on democracy,” Annamalai added.

Senior journalist T Sigamani told TNIE that, perhaps for the first time, most of the political parties are staying away from a by-election in the state, even though AIADMK and DMK have boycotted by-elections many times. However, by boycotting, AIADMK, DMDK and the parties in the NDA are losing an opportunity to highlight the issues to people at the hustings. In fact, they have left the field in favour of DMK. By boycotting this election, these parties have given room for the ruling DMK to campaign that they are skipping the by-election fearing defeat.

Sigamani added, “Interestingly, when AIADMK boycotted the by-election to Vikravandi Assembly constituency, Seeman appealed to the AIADMK cadre to vote for the NTK candidate. Seeman might follow the same in Erode East constituency saying the people should vote for NTK. Also, the opposition parties may say DMK’s victory is not genuine since all of them have boycotted the election.”

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