Congress’s Elangovan wins Erode East, Stalin says foundation for 2024

Elangovan’s candidature was backed by the ruling DMK-led alliance of which the Congress is a key constituent. He said the credit for his victory went to Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin and his “untiring work to meet promises he made during the 2021 Assembly elections”.

He also thanked the DMK ministers and his party workers for their support.

On his part, Stalin, reacting to Elangovan’s win, said the bypoll result was a reflection of the people’s “overwhelming support” for the DMK-led government. “I had asked people to support us based on the performance of the DMK government. They have now responded to the request and extended their support to the Dravidian model of government,” he said.

The DMK chief accused the AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS of acting like a “fourth-rate speaker” during his campaign. He said the poll result was a “fitting reply” to EPS’ tone and tenor, which was, he charged, “unbecoming” of his position as an Opposition leader.

Stalin also said the Erode East result has laid the foundation for the DMK alliance’s “victory” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, saying that the focus during the 2024 polls would be on “who should not come to power rather than who should come to power”.

As the DMK and Congress cadres celebrated Elangovan’s win, distributing sweets and bursting crackers outside the counting centre as well as in their party headquarters in Chennai, the AIADMK candidate was seen leaving the counting centre before noon. Thennarasu also charged it was the “money and muscle power” that ensured the Congress nominee’s victory.

His huge victory also marked a fresh beginning for Elangovan, who had been apparently withdrawing from active politics owing to his age. A former president of the Tamil Nadu Pradesh Congress Committee (TNPCC), Elangovan was chosen by the party leadership as its candidate due to various factors including his track record in the party unit and the key role he played to steer it during its major internal crises over the decades.

Elangovan is one of the grandnephews of Periyar, the iconic Tamil social reformer. Belonging to a family with a long history in politics, he had led the state Congress through several turbulent periods.

Known as “Thanmaana Thalaivar” or a leader with self-respect, Elangovan is regarded as a father figure by many of his younger colleagues in the grand old party in the state.

Elangovan’s father EVK Sampath, the son of Periyar’s brother, had also been a prominent figure in Tamil Nadu’s political history. Hitting the Erode campaign trail in Elangovan’s favour during the last phase, Stalin told the local people that “Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi)’s son (Stalin) has come to seek votes for Sampath’s son,” invoking the emotional connect of people with the two late stalwarts.

Besides his family’s long affiliation to the Congress, Elangovan was also known to veteran Tamil actor-politician Sivaji Ganesan, who helped him secure his first Assembly ticket from the Sathyamangalam constituency in 1984.

Over the years, Elangovan played a crucial role in averting the splits in the state Congress and facilitating the return of some senior leaders to the party. He was appointed as the TNPCC chief in 2000 following which he played a significant role in uniting the breakaway Tamil Maanila Congress under G K Vasan with the Congress in 2002.

In his career, Elangovan has also courted controversies over his personal remarks against political rivals, including Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa in the past.

He however remains a popular figure within the Congress, credited with bringing young talent into the party and fostering unity among its warring factions. Elangovan had initially wanted to field his second son, Sanjay Sampath, for the Erode East seat, but the Congress and the DMK leadership insisted on his candidature itself.

A slew of DMK ministers led by Stalin’s son and sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin campaigned for Elangovan. Apart from the DMK alliance and the “sympathy” factor over the demise of his son, some popular schemes of the Stalin government – such as the free bus ride for women and morning breakfast scheme, among others – were also believed to have helped him clinch the bypoll with a record margin.