Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan, backed by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), won the pivotal Erode East bypoll by 66,087 votes on Thursday, 2 March.
While Elangovan amassed 109,906 votes, his opponent KS Thennarasu got 43,819.
Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the election had "taught EPS (Edappadi K Palaniswami) yet another big lesson."
"This bypoll will act as an anchor for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. I thank all of them who voted for us. Will continue to strive for victory," he said.
Meanwhile, Elangovan credited his vast lead to Stalin, saying, "He did 80 percent of the things that were promised by DMK in election manifesto. I feel proud to be a part of the Legislative Assembly which is headed by MK Stalin."
The election was necessitated after the sudden demise of Elangovan's son Congress MLA Thirumahan Eveera.
Why is the election significant? The election has given an opportunity for the two All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) factions, led by Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) and O Panneerselvam (OPS), to individually assert themselves as the supreme leaders of their party. For DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin,' the by-election will also work as a test of the government's popularity and set the mood for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Who is contesting? While as many as 77 candidates are in the fray, the main battle is between former Union Minister EVKS Elangovan of the Congress and AIADMK's KS Thennarasu, a former legislator.
How are the votes being counted? Votes are being counted over 15 rounds across 16 tables by more than 100 counting officials. Each table is monitored by a micro-observer and three officers.
When will the result come out? The vote-counting exercise is expected to be completed before 5 pm on 2 March. On 27 February, 1.70 lakh voters (74.79 percent) exercised their voting rights, out of 2.27 lakh voters.
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