Chennai, Oct 6:
AIADMK candidate K Bhanumathi has expressed confidence in her victory in the Dharapuram Assembly by-election, describing the constituency as a stronghold of the party.
After casting her vote on Tuesday, Bhanumathi said voters were turning up enthusiastically since polling began. She said the party had made all necessary arrangements for the election and expressed confidence that the AIADMK had a bright chance of winning.
“Dharapuram is a constituency won by the AIADMK and has always been an AIADMK stronghold,” she said.
Polling for the Dharapuram by-election began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. The constituency has 4,37,094 voters and 320 polling stations. A total of 22 candidates are in the fray, with the main contest involving TVK’s P Sathyabama, DMK’s S Suganya, AIADMK’s Bhanumathi, CPI’s P Lakshmanan and NTK’s M Karthika.
The by-election is being keenly watched as a contest between TVK and the established parties, with Dharapuram having traditionally been considered an AIADMK-strong area in western Tamil Nadu. Counting of votes will take place on October 9.