Chennai, Feb 10 (IANS): Senior DMK leader V.C. Chandhirakumar, who won the Erode East by-election by a massive margin of 90,629 votes, took the oath of office as a legislator on Monday.
Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker M. Appavu administered the oath in his chamber at the Assembly secretariat. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, State Irrigation Minister Duraimurugan, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, VCK leader and Member of Parliament from Chidambaram (SC) constituency Thol. Thirumavalavan and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K. Selvaperunthagai were among the leaders present at the ceremony.
The Erode East by-election, held on February 5, saw 46 candidates in the fray. Chandhirakumar, contesting on a DMK ticket, secured an overwhelming 1,14,439 votes, while his nearest rival, M.K. Seethalakshmi, managed only 23,810 votes. The NTK candidate performed poorly, losing her election deposit.
Interestingly, NOTA (None of the Above) received 6,000 votes, making it the third-highest in terms of votes polled.
From the very first round of counting, Chandhirakumar maintained a commanding lead over Seethalakshmi, making the election a one-sided contest.
Following his victory, Chandhirakumar expressed gratitude to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, dedicating his triumph to him. He highlighted that the DMK candidate had secured more than 75 per cent of the total votes polled and described the landslide win as a prelude to the 2026 Assembly elections, where he predicted another decisive victory for the DMK.
He also thanked the local minister, S. Muthusamy, for leading the election campaign as soon as the DMK announced its candidate.
The Erode East constituency recorded a voter turnout of 67.97 per cent, with 1,54,657 people casting their votes. The by-election was necessitated by the passing of veteran Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan, who won the seat in the 2023 by-election following the untimely demise of his son, Thirumahan Everaa, due to a heart attack on January 4, 2023.
In the 2023 by-election, Elangovan secured a landslide victory with a margin of 66,233 votes, defeating AIADMK’s K.S. Thenarassu. At that time, NTK’s candidate, Menaka Navaneethan, secured 10,827 votes. The overall voter turnout for that election stood at 65 per cent, according to the Election Commission.
Notably, the AIADMK, BJP, DMDK, and Tamil superstar Vijay’s newly formed political party, TVK, did not participate in this election. NTK, led by Seeman, based its campaign on harsh criticisms of Dravidar Kazhagam founder E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ while also attacking the DMK government.
In contrast, the DMK’s campaign focused on showcasing the state government’s achievements. Although the election process remained largely peaceful, tensions escalated between NTK and Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK).
This by-election came at a crucial time for the DMK government, which has been facing scrutiny over recent controversies, including the Anna University sexual assault case and growing concerns about law and order in Tamil Nadu.
Determined to use this election to reinforce public support, the DMK took the contest seriously, despite the absence of AIADMK and BJP candidates.