Erode East bypolls: With AIADMK, BJP, Vijay’s TVK boycotting elections, Seeman’s NTK emerges as key opponent for DMK

The Election Commission has finalised the final list of candidates for the Erode East bypolls and there are 46 candidates in fray. With key opposition parties boycotting the election, Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi has emerged as the key opponent for Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam this time.

While there were 47 candidates in the final list,  N.Manish, Returning Officer for the Erode East Assembly seat rejected the candidacy of a woman candidate on Monday after it was found her name was in Karnataka’s voters list. As per the rules, only the residents of Tamil Nadu could contest assembly elections in the state. 

The ruling party has fielded V.C. Chandhirakumar from the seat, while NTK has fielded M.K. Seethalaksmi for the polls scheduled for February 5. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of former legislator and Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan in December. The Congress is part of the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu. Elangovan himself became a member of the state assembly after winning the bypolls held following the death of his son E. Thirumahan Everaa.

The NTK emerged third largest party during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and the party gained about 7 per cent vote share of the total votes polled. During the 2021 assembly polls, the party, which advocates Tamil nationalism, came third in six seats and gained over 5 pc votes in 159 constituencies. NTK’s leader Seeman was recently in the news for his remarks against Periyar, a social reformer hugely revered by the state.  Seeman is strong critique of the policies of the current ruling government and is anti-Dravidian politics. The bypoll contest is likely to help the party gain more vote share and visibility in Tamil Nadu politics.