Preparations are underway for by-elections in seven Tamil Nadu Assembly constituencies, with Election Commission officials beginning the process of verifying Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) ahead of the polls.
The latest constituency which was added to the bypoll list is Karur, which fell vacant after AIADMK MLA and former minister M.R. Vijayabaskar resigned from the Assembly on June 29. He became the sixth AIADMK legislator to quit the House after the recent political realignments in the state.
Vijayabaskar is expected to join the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). He was among the 25 AIADMK MLAs who voted in favour of Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's government during the Assembly floor test held on June 13.
Earlier, AIADMK legislators Maragatham Kumaravel (Maduranthakam), S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), Esakki Subbiah (Ambasamudram) and former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar (Viralimalai) had resigned from both the Assembly and the party before joining the TVK.
The resignations have reduced the AIADMK's strength in the 234-member Assembly from 47 to 41.
Another bypoll will be held in Tiruchirappalli East, which was vacated by Chief Minister Vijay after he won from two constituencies in the Assembly election. He chose to retain Perambur in Chennai.
The by-elections will take place against the backdrop of a dramatically altered political landscape in the state. The DMK is expected to contest the polls without its traditional allies after several parties switched allegiance to the ruling TVK-led alliance.
The Congress was the first to exit the DMK alliance, followed by the Left parties, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and, more recently, the MDMK led by Vaiko.
Speculation continues over whether former chief minister M.K. Stalin will contest the Tiruchirappalli East bypoll. The rumours gained momentum after Chief Minister Vijay's "Where is your father?" jibe directed at the DMK, and a resolution passed by the party's Tiruchirappalli South district unit urging Stalin to enter the fray from the constituency.
The bypolls will also serve as a crucial electoral test for the TVK-led alliance, whose constituents span diverse ideological positions. The allies will be keen to ensure the ruling coalition outperforms TVK's standalone performance in the Assembly election, to reinforce the alliance's electoral strength.
The ruling bloc is also reportedly considering fielding Vaiko from Tiruchirappalli East. He had won the Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha seat as an INDIA bloc candidate in the last general election.
Meanwhile, election officials have begun preparatory work for the polls. According to DT Next, the first-level checking and verification of EVMs for Tiruchirappalli East, Maduranthakam, Dharapuram, Ambasamudram and Perundurai are in the final stages, while the verification process for Viralimalai is expected to begin shortly.
