AIADMK to contest Erode bypoll, Tamil Maanila Congress leader GK Vasan supports ally’s decision

On the other hand, the AIADMK, which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), held talks with its allies, and AIADMK leader D Jayakumar – who met Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) chief G K Vasan on Thursday – told mediapersons that the alliance leaders will take a call on the candidate.

Though it was speculated that the seat will be allocated to the TMC as it was in the case of Congress, G K Vasan on Friday issued a statement saying that “considering the current political scenario” and for “the welfare of Tamils and their alliance parties”, they have accepted the request from the AIADMK to contest the bypoll. He added that their “party functionaries will work hard to ensure their alliance candidate emerges victorious”.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, M Yuvaraja of TMC contested unsuccessfully against Everaa on the AIADMK’s two leaves symbol.

Meanwhile, BJP, a core member of the NDA alliance, is yet to announce its stand on the Erode bypoll. They had formed a 14-member committee to monitor and coordinate election-related work in Erode (East). BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy told indianexpress.com that a decision will be taken by the party high command on Friday.