The Erode (East) Assembly constituency is all set to witness a battle between candidates of the Congress, backed by the ruling DMK-led alliance, and the AIADMK in the bypoll on February 27.
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Decks for the AIADMK’s entry into the battlefield were cleared on Friday when Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) president G.K. Vasan announced that his party had accepted the request of the AIADMK, the principal party in the alliance, to contest the byelection. In a statement, Mr. Vasan the decision was made keeping in mind the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu and the TMC’s alliance partners. The current political situation was taken into consideration, the party said.
The TMC had contested in the Erode (East) constituency as part of the alliance during the 2021 Assembly election. The party’s M. Yuvaraja lost to Congress’ E. Thirumahan Everaa by 8,904 votes.
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The byelection was necessitated after Everaa’s death earlier this month. The TMC’s decision has come after the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance’s announcement on Thursday that the Congress would contest the election as part of its alliance.
Mr. Vasan said despite false promises made by the DMK and its allies, the TMC secured 58,396 votes in the constituency due to the hard work of its cadre and alliance partners. The party had continued its work for people’s welfare in the constituency since the election, he said.
Pointing out that the AIADMK expressed its interest during a meeting that its leaders had with him on Thursday, Mr. Vasan said the TMC’s decision was made after consultation with the party’s senior leaders. He said the TMC cadre would work towards AIADMK’s victory.