Erode (East) witnessed over 70 per cent voter turnout on Wednesday. The bypoll necessitated by the death of Congress MLA E.V.K.S. Elangovan concluded peacefully with barely any contest against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. While the opposition AIADMK and the BJP decided to boycott the polls, Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) fielded its candidate turning the ground into a contest between Dravidianism and Tamil nationalism.
The voting percentage which stood at 10 per cent in the first two hours turned brisk in the second half of the day, with the voters turning out in large numbers to the 237 booths set up across the constituency. The constituency went for a snap poll in 2023 after Thirumahan Eve Ra passed away. His father Elangovan from the Congress contested the bypoll held then and won from the constituency. With the passing away of Elangovan, the DMK decided to retain the seat, taking it away from the Congress.
Though there were 46 candidates in the fray, the contest was largely between DMK’s V.C. Chandrakumar and NTK’s Seethalakshmi. The contest turned into a frenzy with NTK leader Seeman hitting the campaign trail and speaking against Periyar and his ideologies. Seeman’s speeches from Erode turned sensational. However, no DMK leader went for campaigning as there was hardly any contest.
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In the 2023 bypoll, even with AIADMK in the fray, the NTK gained 44,000 votes. But this time the opposition parties chose to boycott citing the money and muscle power of the ruling DMK.
Tamil Nadu’s bypolls are marred by cash for votes and other gifts to the voters. And it is an unwritten law that every bypoll in the state is won by the ruling party – no matter who was in power. However, this bypoll at Erode East turned out to be a different ground with NTK taking on the mighty DMK. Seeman’s rhetoric against Periyar and his Tamil nationalism may not help him as DMK has a strong voter base in Erode.
