AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) announced on Sunday that the party has decided to boycott the upcoming Vikravandi assembly bypoll, scheduled for July 10. He cited concerns over the fairness of the election as the primary reason for this decision.Speaking to reporters at the Madurai airport, EPS criticized the conduct of the Erode East assembly bypoll last year, describing it as a “murder of democracy.” He alleged widespread violations during the election, claiming that voters were treated “like caged animals” by 36 ministers who had camped in the constituency.
EPS expressed his skepticism about the upcoming Vikravandi bypoll, suggesting that the Election Commission and the police would collude with the ruling DMK to manipulate the outcome. “The Election Commission and the police will work hand in hand with the ruling DMK and shower more money on voters,” he alleged. Given these circumstances, EPS questioned whether the bypoll could be considered free and fair.
Addressing Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s recent statement in Coimbatore about the DMK’s goal of winning over 200 seats in the 2026 assembly polls, EPS dismissed it as an unrealistic aspiration. “In elections, it’s a cycle from victory to defeat and defeat to victory for political parties, it keeps changing,” he remarked.
EPS highlighted the fluctuating fortunes of political parties, pointing out that despite the DMK-led front’s success in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK managed to win the bypoll in Nilakottai. He noted that while the DMK secured 38 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it fell short of its goal in the 2021 assembly elections, where the AIADMK won 75 seats. “People have been looking at general elections and Assembly elections differently,” EPS concluded.