Will hold bypolls in 3 seats if pleas withdrawn: EC tells DMK

The by-polls in the remaining three Assembly seats of Tamil Nadu-Aravakurichi, Ottapiadaram, and Tiruparankundram-will be held once the petitions in the court with regard to these constituencies are withdrawn, the Election Commission told the DMK on Tuesday.

DMK leader Tiruchi Siva on Tuesday, who met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, said, “The election panel has said that by-polls in three out of 21 Assembly constituencies will be held once the election petitions pending in the Madras High Court are withdrawn.”

The by-polls in 18 out of 21 Assembly seats will be held along the Lok Sabha elections on April 18 in Tamil Nadu, where 39 parliamentary seats are at stake.

Speaking to the media after meeting Arora, T Siva said, “We put forth our plea to the Election Commission on behalf of the DMK asking why the poll panel amended its decision not to hold bypolls in three assembly seats, though initially announced to hold the by-polls in all 21 Assembly seats.”

“We told the EC that the petitions in the Madras High Court cannot be treated as a reason not to hold polls in three Assembly seats. However, Arora told me that once the election petitions are withdrawn and the court gives an order, the bypolls in three assembly seats will be held,” he said.

Last month, DMK president MK Stalin issued a statement, which read, “In order to have an alliance with the AIADMK, BJP has given assurances for not conducting by-elections in 21 assembly constituencies along with LS elections. I would ask the Election Commission of India to use its Constitutional freedom to conduct by-elections for 21 assembly constituencies along with the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu. If the Election Commission of India collides with the BJP, it will be a historic error and a black chapter in the election history of India.”