Congress to contest Erode bypoll, BJP may not stand aside for AIADMK

Sources in the DMK said the party leadership had intimated that they would not claim the seat if the candidate was from Elangovan’s family. State Congress chief K S Alagiri confirmed on Thursday that the party would indeed field a candidate. The Congress won the seat by a 6% margin last time, defeating a member of the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC), which is led by former United Progressive Alliance (UPA) minister G K Vasan.

The Opposition camp stands divided, with the AIADMK announcing on Friday it would contest the seat since the seat falls in the Kongu region of western Tamil Nadu that the party considers to be its stronghold. But the BJP, too, is planning to field a candidate to increase its vote share in western Tamil Nadu — where it is considerably stronger compared to the rest of the state — to 10-15 per cent.

A senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader from west Tamil Nadu told The Indian Express that the state BJP leadership had mooted a plan and was waiting for approval from New Delhi. But he claimed that it would not be a “fight against the AIADMK but an informed decision, keeping the alliance intact for a longer term”.

The demographic composition, including caste calculations, also favours the ruling alliance. In Erode East, minorities have a 20 to 22 per cent vote share. The diverse population there includes a mix of different castes and religious groups, including Gounders, Mudaliyars, Thevars, Dalits, and minorities, especially Muslims. Another factor that will boost the DMK-Congress is that bypolls in Tamil Nadu have traditionally gone in favour of ruling parties.