EVKS Elangovan of Congress wins Erode East bypoll — DMK emerges victorious

The results, although a foregone conclusion given that the seat was previously held by EVKS’s late son Thirumagan Evera, have come as a massive setback to the AIADMK that lost by a huge margin in party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s backyard.

Meanwhile, with this win, Elangovan reentered the Tamil Nadu Assembly after 34 years. He won from the Sathyamangalam constituency in 1984.

Mind-blowing margin

EVKS Elangovan receives the winning certificate from the Election Officer. (Supplied)

EVKS Elangovan won by a huge margin of 66,233 votes. It is the highest margin ever of a winning candidate in the Erode East Assembly constituency.

Elangovan secured 1,10,156 votes, while his closest rival, the AIADMK’s Thennarasu, got 43,923 votes.

With this win, Elangovan also set a record: He secured the highest number of votes in all the Assembly elections conducted in Erode East so far.

When the counting started on the morning of Thursday, 2 March, Elangovan was leading right from the counting of the postal ballots.

Under the supervision of District Election Officer Krishnan Unni, the strongroom where the EVMs were kept sealed was opened and the votes were counted on 16 tables.

During the third round of counting, Elangovan had crossed the vote margin of 10,000 against AIADMK candidate KS Thennarasu and, in the subsequent rounds, the Congress candidate kept increasing the margin.

During the sixth round of counting, AIADMK candidate Thennarasu secured his deposit by polling 28,300 votes. Later, Thennarasu left the counting centre.

Elangovan had secured more than 116 votes in the ward where the AIADMK candidate Thennarasu resides.

Also Read: Money flows in Erode bypoll as DMK, AIADMK make it ‘personal’

There were others who were left disappointed by the results. The Naam Tamilar party, which secured nearly six percent of votes in the 2021 Assembly elections and was placed third, failed to secure its deposit. Its candidate Menaka Navaneethan was in the hundreds till the fifth round of counting.

Until the sixth round of counting, nearly 12 candidates, mostly the independents who contested, hadn’t secured a single vote.

In the previous election, the deceased MLA Thirumagan had secured 67,300 votes and won by a margin of 8,904 votes. But his father Elangovan had crossed this margin in the second round of counting.

In not even a single round of the total 15 rounds of counting did the AIADMK candidate have a lead over the Congress candidate.

Vote share

In the end, the vote share of the winning candidates in Erode East in recent times stood as follows:

• 2023: 64.58 percent (EVKS Elangovan of the Congress)
• 2021: 44.27 percent (Evera Thirumagan of the Congress)
• 2016: 43.83 percent (KS Thennarasu of the AIADMK)
• 2011: 50.83 percent (VC Chandrakumar of the DMDK)

Celebrations across the state

Following Elangovan’s massive lead in the counting, both DMK and Congress cadres started celebrating the emerging victory.

Crackers were burst outside the counting hall and sweets were distributed to the public. In Erode, the DMK functionaries met Elangovan and congratulated him.

Chief Minister Stalin telephonically conveyed his wishes to the Congress candidate for his landslide win.

ஈரோடு (கி) இடைத்தேர்தலில் மதச்சார்பற்ற முற்போக்கு கூட்டணியின் வேட்பாளர் திரு @EVKSElangovan அவர்களுக்கு வரலாற்றில் பதிவாகக் கூடிய மகத்தான வெற்றியைத் தந்த வாக்காள பெருமக்களுக்கு என்னுடைய இதயபூர்வமான நன்றியை தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

– கழக தலைவர் @mkstalin அவர்கள்.#MakkalWithMKS pic.twitter.com/gIDRxPBhqF

— DMK (@arivalayam) March 2, 2023

Victory to Dravidian Model: Stalin

In Chennai, senior DMK ministers met MK Stalin and conveyed their wishes. Crackers were burst in Anna Arivalayam too. In Sathyamoorthy Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, party functionaries distributed sweets to the cadres.

Speaking to reporters in Chennai, Stalin thanked the people of the Erode East constituency for offering them a historic victory in the by-election.

“People have acknowledged the ‘Dravidian Model’ rule and weighed good on the 20-month DMK rule. Voters of Erode have given a befitting reply with this mandate to Opposition leader Edappadi Palaniswami who spoke like uncouth person in this election,” Stalin said.

20 மாத கால தி.மு.க. ஆட்சியை எடைபோடும் தேர்தலாக, இந்த இடைத்தேர்தல் இருக்கும் என கூறி வந்தேன். திராவிட மாடல் ஆட்சியை இன்னும் சிறப்போடு நடத்திட வேண்டும் என்று
மக்கள் மிகப்பெரிய ஆதரவை இந்த வெற்றியின் மூலம் வழங்கியிருக்கிறார்கள்.

– கழகத் தலைவர் @mkstalin அவர்கள்.#MakkalWithMKS pic.twitter.com/IUcy6bVOFT

— DMK (@arivalayam) March 2, 2023

Stalin further said, “This by-election victory will be a foundation for the success of DMK allies in the upcoming parliamentary elections.”

Also Read: I set my own targets, says MK Stalin; launches seven new projects

EVKS Elangovan’s press meet

Addressing the media in Erode, Elangovan said that the victory shows the love, affection, and support that people of the state felt towards the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

He also stated that the people of Tamil Nadu had acknowledged Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and he will be fulfilling the schemes initiated by his late son Thirumagan in the constituency.

Further, the Congress leader also stated that the DMK ministers had worked very hard for his victory and also thanked actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan for lending his support to the Congress.

Accept people’s verdict: K Annamalai

Interacting with media in Viluppuram, BJP state unit leader Annamalai bowed his head and accepted the verdict of the people.

“After people have voted, it is not fair to criticise them in a democracy. Though money has played a major role, people would have given thought before the voting,” Annamalai said.

Also Read: DMK MP says BJP TN chief K Annamalai peddles lies, is anti-Tamil

Confusion during counting

A section of the media protested in front of the counting centre after the police denied them entry into the counting halls.

Reporters also alleged that the results were not given to the media and there was a delay. Pacifying them, District Collector Krishnan Unni assured them of a prompt delivery of results.