Chennai, Jan 12 Congress functionaries in Tamil Nadu are upset after the state leadership relinquished its claim to the Erode East Assembly seat, allowing the DMK to contest the upcoming by-election on February 5.
The by-election was necessitated by the passing of E.V.K.S. Elangovan, a former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president and sitting MLA of Erode East.
The seat, allocated to the Congress in the 2021 Assembly elections, holds sentimental value for the party as Elangovan was a towering Congress leader and the grandnephew of Dravidian icon Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, the founder of the Dravidian movement.
R. Muthukrishnan, a local Congress office-bearer, stated that the decision to hand over the seat to the DMK has disappointed local functionaries and cadres.
“This seat is significant for the Congress, and the decision to let go of it has shattered hopes of retaining it in the 2026 Assembly elections,” he said.
In the 2021 elections, the Congress was allotted 25 seats as part of the DMK-led coalition and won 18, including Erode East. This victory marked the first time the DMK alliance secured a win from the constituency, which was created in 2008 and faced its first election in 2011.
Previously, the DMK contested Erode East in the 2011 and 2016 Assembly elections but failed to win. In 2021, the seat was allotted to the Congress, and Thirumagan Everaa, son of Elangovan, emerged victorious with a margin of 8,904 votes.
Tragically, Thirumagan passed away on January 4, 2023, due to a massive heart attack, prompting a by-election. Elangovan then contested the by-election and won with an impressive margin of 66,203 votes.
K.N. Basha, Vice President of the Congress Minority Wing in Erode, stated that since the seat was allotted to the Congress in 2021, the party should rightfully contest the by-election.
“It will be difficult for the Congress to reclaim this seat in future elections if we give it up now,” he said.
Erode District Congress President T. Thiruselvam explained that the state leadership likely ceded the seat to the DMK, anticipating tough competition in the by-election. However, this decision has caused significant resentment among party cadres and supporters.
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