Some NTK supporters took to social media to point out that their party’s support had increased after their chief coordinator Seeman had openly attacked the founder of the Dravidian Movement Periyar E V Ramasamy, who originally hailed from Erode
Chennai: Celebrations broke out at both the offices of the DMK and the BJP in Chennai even as the results for the by-election to the Erode East Assembly constituency and General Election to the Delhi Assembly were pouring in with Chief Minister M K Stalin joining the rejoicing party cadre who distributed sweets and lighted firecrackers to mark their victory.
At the BJP State office, former president Tamilisai Soundarajan took part in the massive celebrations over the party’s victory in Delhi and said that the party would prove its mettle in the State in 2026 by sweeping the State elections.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said the results of Delhi Assembly ‘reflect that people have chosen the development politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the divisive politics propagated by the parties in the INDI Alliance.’
Congratulating V C Chandrakumar, the winner of Erode East constituency, Stalin said that the overwhelming victory was a certificate for the DMK’s governments’ good governance and a recognition for the benefits brought about by the welfare schemes launched by the government.
Thanking all the alliance parties, particularly the Congress for their support and hard work that enabled the success of the DMK candidate, V C Chandrakumar, who polled over 1,15,000 votes, Stalin said the DMK would strive for the development of the entire western region of the State.
TNCC president K Selvaperunthogai, whose party had acceded the Erode East Assembly constituency to the alliance leader DMK for the by-election said results were a lesson to the regressive forces that had been trying to disrupt communal harmony and social justice in the State in the recent past and said that victory of the DMK candidate was a forerunner to the electoral success of the INDIA coalition in the 2026 Assembly polls
Chandrakumar defeated his nearest rival Naam Tamilar Katchi’s M K Seethalakshmi, by a margin of 89,041 votes, and the rest of the independent candidates. All the candidates who had filed papers against the DMK candidate lost their security deposits in the by-election that saw the major opposition parties boycotting the polls.
Polling for the by-election, caused by the passing away of sitting MLA E V K S Elangovan on December 14, 2024, was held on Wednesday when 67.97 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise. Though the DMK’s vote share had gone up tremendously compared to what Elangovan garnered in 2023 when he contested a by-election to fill the vacancy caused by the passing of his son Thirumagan Evera in January 2023, the NTK has also polled more votes than in 2023.
Some NTK supporters took to social media to point out that their party’s support had increased after their chief coordinator Seeman had openly attacked the founder of the Dravidian Movement Periyar E V Ramasamy, who originally hailed from Erode.
Another social media enthusiast alleged that the DMK had spent a lot in the elections to woo the voters though no top leader of the party went to the constituency for campaign. The entire campaign was overseen by Minister S Muthusamy with the local functionaries carrying out the work.
As far as the NTK was concerned, Seeman had camped in the constituency for a prolonged period and went around campaigning for his candidate besides seeking the votes of the opposition parties that were boycotting the by-election accusing the DMK of habitually indulging in unfair practices.
