CHENNAI: VC Chandhirakumar, who won the Erode East bypoll by a thumping margin of over 90,000 votes, on Monday formally assumed oath as the MLA of the constituency.

Speaker M Appavu administered the Oath of Office to VC Chandhirakumar at his chamber in the Assembly Secretariat on Monday morning. Chief Minister MK Stalin, State Irrigation Minister Duraimurugan, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, VCK president Thol Tirumavalavan and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai were among the leaders who were present when Chandhirakumar assumed office as the MLA of the urban Erode constituency.

With 46 candidates in the poll fray, DMK’s Chandhirakumar romped home comfortably by a margin of 90,629 votes, while distant runner-up MK Seethalakshmi of Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) managed to secure only 23,810 votes, falling 2,000 votes short of the mandatory vote share among the total polled votes required to retain the deposit.

The February 5 bypoll was one of the low-profile bypolls to be held in the State in recent times, owing to the abstention of major opposition parties, mainly the AIADMK. The bypoll to Erode East was necessitated for the second time in four years due to the demise of its MLA EVKS Elangovan on December 14, 2024. Elangovan was elected in a bypoll held in February 2023 following the death of his son and constituency MLA Thirumahan Evera in January 2023.