Hold by-elections along with Lok Sabha poll, demand parties

“The Election Commission of India being a constitutional body should act in an unbiased manner and should not succumb to the pressure of the ruling government by further postponing the by-polls,” Vaiko said in a statement. 

He also accused the BJP-led Central government of weakening constitutional institutions. “Information from Delhi suggests that the BJP is trying to pressurise the ECI to postpone the pending by-polls. Democracy will be saved only if the ECI remains neutral and does not postpone the elections,” Vaiko added. 

In a separate statement, Balakrishnan said: “The State government is fearful of facing the elections. The 21 assembly constituencies are lying vacant for more than 15 months.”

He also said that the local bodies in the State are lying vacant for more than two years. “The ruling AIADMK is citing lame reasons for not conducting the elections. They know well that if elections are conducted, they will lose badly, and thrown out of power. Hence, the government, which is in a precarious position, is taking all steps to postpone the polls,” Balakrishnan said.