Post Anbu death, Three seats vacant in Assembly

Chennai

The State public election department had already notified two Assembly seats namely Gudiyatham and Thiruvottriyur as vacant after the demise of DMK legislators S Kathavarayan and K P P Samy. Now Chepauk Triplicane represented by Anbhazhagan will be the third seat to be vacant ahead of the next year Assembly polls.

“With Tamil Nadu being the second-most affected State in the country the conduct of by-polls to three seats will be a call by the Election Commission of India,” said a public election department official. The usual practice is to hold by-polls within six months after the seats become vacant, but now the situation is completely different with the COVID setting new precedence, the official said. With just nine months to go, the by-poll to Chepauk Triplicane may be deferred or conducted along with the general elections. In the case of Thiruvottriyur and Gudiyattam, the ECI will take a call.

With 234 assembly seats, Tamil Nadu will step into the poll mood by the end of this year, as the general assembly polls are due in May 2021 leaving nine months for the regional parties to fight. The simple majority to form the government is 117.