Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan has extended his lead over rival AIADMK’s KS Thennarasu in the Erode (East) Assembly Constituency by-poll, after eight rounds of the counting of votes that began at 8 am on Thursday.
Elangovan is leading by a huge margin of over 30000 votes at the end of eight rounds of counting.
He has been supported by the ruling MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) powered Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) backed AIADMK.
The election in Tamil Nadus Erode East by-election seat was held on Monday, February 27 with nearly 75 percent polling percentile or approximately 2.27 lakh voters exercising their votes. Barring the two major Dravidian parties, Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK)s Menaka Navaneedhan, and Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam’s S Anand are also in the fray.
Elangovan on Thursday said the entire credit for his impending victory in the election goes to Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin.
Elangovan thanked all the DMK
ministers who campaigned for him and his partymen who stood by him at the time of his personal loss (demise of his son and former MLA of Erode East E Thirumahan Everaa).
“This is a huge victory. But I’m not in a state of mind to celebrate. All I want to do is continue the work left by my son,” he told reporters in Erode. “I will try to fulfil all the demands placed by the people of Erode East,” he said.
As DMK and Congress cadres jumped into celebrations, distributing sweets and bursting crackers outside the counting centre as well as in their party headquarters in Chennai, AIADMK candidate K S Thennarasu left the counting centre by 11am.
Thennarasu alleged that democracy has been stifled by money power.