COIMBATORE: DMK’s VC Chandhirakumar romped home with a decisive victory, winning by a margin of 91,558 votes in the Erode East bypolls.

VC Chandhirakumar secured 1,15,709 votes, while his nearest rival, Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) candidate Seethalakshmi, secured only 24,151 votes.

Even though this victory was on expected lines, with opposition parties, including AIADMK and BJP, boycotting the bypolls and blaming the ruling government for manipulating successive polls, such a huge vote margin was a surprise.

From the first round of counting, Chandhirakumar maintained a steady lead, with his vote margin growing after every round of counting. From a significant lead of 6,756 votes in the first round, the vote margin grew consistently to reach 91,558 votes in the final 20th round. Significantly, NOTA polled 6,109 votes to secure the third spot.

Out of the total 46 candidates, including several independents who tested the electoral waters in the bypolls, all others except VC Chandhirakumar lost their deposits.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, Congress candidate Thirumagan Everaa won by a margin of 8,904 votes against Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) candidate Yuvaraja, who contested on the AIADMK’s Two Leaves symbol. Following his death due to a heart attack, his father and Congress leader EVKS Elangovan won the bypolls in 2023 with a margin of 66,233 votes against AIADMK’s KS Thennarasu. The death of EVKS Elangovan necessitated this bypoll.