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Erode East constituency in western Tamil Nadu faces yet another bypoll, scheduled for February 5, following the death on December 14 of sitting MLA and veteran Congress leader EVKS Elangovan.
The polls, which will be a litmus test for the ruling DMK-led alliance and the principal opposition party, AIADMK, mark the second by-election in Erode East within two years.
In early 2023, a bypoll was necessitated following the sudden death of Elangovan’s son, Thirumagan Everaa, who passed away at 46 due to cardiac arrest. Thirumagan, a rising star in Tamil Nadu’s Congress party and a direct descendant of social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy, had briefly served as MLA before his death.
Elangovan, a seasoned Congress leader and former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president, won the bypoll, only to succumb to illness less than two years later.
Erode East, carved out as an independent constituency in 2008, has about 2.26 lakh registered voters, including 1.16 lakh women, 1.10 lakh men, and 23 transgender individuals. With a blend of urban and semi-urban populations, people here heavily depend on agriculture and textile industries.
The seat has been historically favoured the two Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK, largely influenced by alliance dynamics. In 2021, Erode East was contested by the Tamil Maanila Congress, a junior partner in the AIADMK-led alliance.
The leadership of the DMK, which helms Tamil Nadu’s government with 133 seats in the 234-member Assembly, calculates that the outcome of this election could act as an informal barometer for public opinion ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, known for his meticulous approach to constituency management, recently visited Erode district to bolster his party’s prospects. He met with local DMK leaders with a focus on addressing voter concerns and strengthening the party’s base in constituencies where it lost by narrow margins in the 2021 elections.
For the AIADMK, led by its interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, the bypoll offers an opportunity to rejuvenate its cadre and position itself as a formidable alternative to the DMK.
