The DMK-backed Congress candidate from Erode-East, EVKS Elangovan, on Monday said the result of the high-stakes bypoll will have a bearing on the outcome of next year's general elections.
The Congress leader said he was confident that he would win the prized Assembly seat by a thumping margin.
Elangovan on Monday arrived at polling booth no. 180 at the Mahajana School on Agrahara Street to cast his vote.
Speaking toafter casting his vote on Monday, the Congress candidate said, "We will win the bypoll by a big margin. The outcome of this election will have a bearing on parliamentary elections next year. We will win both the elections."
"Ours is a secular front headed by the DMK. People in Tamil Nadu, especially those in Erode, are very secular-minded. So, I am sure we will win this election by a big margin," Elangovan added.
Meanwhile, AIADMK's KS Thennarasu, who is bidding to wrest the Erode (East) seat from the ruling DMK-Congress alliance, also cast his vote on Monday.
The polling for the tightly-contested Erode East bypoll began at 7 am.
Significantly, a total of 77 candidates across political affiliations are vying for the prized Assembly constituency.
However, the bypoll is being essentially seen as a tight race between Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan and AIADMK's Thennarasu.
Elangovan is contesting the bypoll with the support of the DMK, which is also Congress' bigger partner in the ruling alliance.
After the recent Supreme Court ruling, which allowed him to remain at the helm of the AIADMK, former Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami has a chance to emerge as a tall leader and reaffirm his hold on the party if the outcome of the Erode bypoll goes his way.
However, the AIADMK faces a stiff contest from the ruling DMK in the battle for the prized seat, with the Naam Tamizlar Katchi (NTK), the Desiya Morpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and several others players also in fray.
A total of 1206 officers, 286 presiding officers, 858 polling officers and 62 additional officers, have been stationed for poll duty.
As many as 238 polling centres have been set up across 52 places.
The bypoll was necessitated after the sudden demise of Congress MLA Thirumahan Eveera.
( With inputs from ANI )
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