Tamil Nadu: AIADMK vote share declines in Erode East bypoll

The AIADMK lost the Erode East bypoll by a huge margin but more worrying is the dip in vote share, which has come down significantly compared to 2021 Assembly polls.

The ruling DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) on Thursday retained the Erode East Assembly constituency in this western Tamil Nadu town with a spectacular win against the K Palaniswami-led AIADMK.

Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan defeated AIADMK candidate Thennarasu by a huge margin. Nam Tamizhar Katchi's Meneka Navaneethan and DMDK's Anand forfeited deposit.

According to statistics available on the Election Commission of India website, Congress candidate Elangovan secured 1,10,156 votes (64.58 per cent), which is 20.29 per cent more than the 2021 Assembly election as the then INC candidate secured 66,300 votes and won the seat. When it comes to AIADMK, its ally Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) contested the 2021 polls and secured 58,396 votes (38.41 per cent).

The TMC contested on AIADMK symbol and lost by a slender margin. This time, AIADMK contested the bypoll and secured 43,923 votes (25.75 per cent), decrease by 12.66 per cent of vote share. Similarly, the Nam Tamizhar Katchi's vote share dropped this time around.

In 2021 election, the party secured 11,629 votes (7.65 per cent) and now it secured 10,827 votes (6.35 per cent). The DMDK candidate secured only 1,432 votes and the percentage of votes have come down to 0.84 per cent. Erode district is said to be the bastion of AIADMK and in the 2021 Assembly election, out of eight constituencies in the district, the AIADMK won four seats - Bhavani, Bhavanisagar, Gobichettipalayam and Perundurai Assembly segments.

BJP, the AIADMK ally, won Modakurichi constituency, defeating the DMK candidate Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan. The DMK won Anthiyur, Erode West and INC won Erode East. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Erode East Congress MLA E Thirumagan Everaa.