In Key Test For Ruling DMK, Tamil Nadu's Erode Votes For Special Election

Voting began at 7 am on Monday for the by-election to the Erode East seat in north-western Tamil Nadu, seen as a high-stakes prestige battle for the 21-month-old DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin as well as the opposition AIADMK.

While as many as 77 candidates are in the contest, the battle is largely seen as one between DMK-backed Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan and AIADMK's KS Thennarasu. Nam Tamizhar Katchi's Meneka Navaneethan is among the other candidates.

The outcome of the election, the first since the DMK came to power in 2021, will have no major bearing on the assembly strength of the respective parties but is being seen as an indicator of the ruling party's popularity.

For the AIADMK, the election is the first test for the leadership of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, whose status as the party's top boss after a protracted power struggle with rival O Panneerselvam was only cleared by the Supreme Court last week.

The election saw high-voltage campaigns from both sides, with the DMK drafting top ministers and, along with the AIADMK, battling allegations of handing out cash.

"There is nothing wrong in ministers campaigning for us. Bypolls are fought this way. Cash-for-votes allegations are propaganda," Mr Elangovan told NDTV after voting.

AIADMK's KS Thennarasu said, "The ruling DMK has deployed all its ministers out of fear of defeat. Just like how MGR won the Dindugal byelection when DMK was in power, Erode East will be a turning point for EPS."

The election in Erode East was called because of the death of Mr Elangovan's son and Congress legislator E Thirumahan Everaa. The constituency has a little over 2.27 lakh voters and 238 polling stations. District collector Krishnan Unni was among the early voters.

Election officer Sivakumar told news agency ANI, "Everything is going well across the constituency. From our office, we are monitoring the situation across all polling booths."Voting began at 7 am on Monday for the by-election to the Erode East seat in north-western Tamil Nadu, seen as a high-stakes prestige battle for the 21-month-old DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin as well as the opposition AIADMK.

While as many as 77 candidates are in the contest, the battle is largely seen as one between DMK-backed Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan and AIADMK's KS Thennarasu. Nam Tamizhar Katchi's Meneka Navaneethan is among the other candidates.

The outcome of the election, the first since the DMK came to power in 2021, will have no major bearing on the assembly strength of the respective parties but is being seen as an indicator of the ruling party's popularity.

For the AIADMK, the election is the first test for the leadership of former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, whose status as the party's top boss after a protracted power struggle with rival O Panneerselvam was only cleared by the Supreme Court last week.

The election saw high-voltage campaigns from both sides, with the DMK drafting top ministers and, along with the AIADMK, battling allegations of handing out cash.

"There is nothing wrong in ministers campaigning for us. Bypolls are fought this way. Cash-for-votes allegations are propaganda," Mr Elangovan told NDTV after voting.

AIADMK's KS Thennarasu said, "The ruling DMK has deployed all its ministers out of fear of defeat. Just like how MGR won the Dindugal byelection when DMK was in power, Erode East will be a turning point for EPS."

The election in Erode East was called because of the death of Mr Elangovan's son and Congress legislator E Thirumahan Everaa. The constituency has a little over 2.27 lakh voters and 238 polling stations. District collector Krishnan Unni was among the early voters.

Election officer Sivakumar told news agency ANI, "Everything is going well across the constituency. From our office, we are monitoring the situation across all polling booths."