AIADMK called for boycott of Vikravandi bypoll as it won't be free and fair, says Edappadi Palaniswami
Talking to reporters at the Madurai airport, EPS termed the Erode East assembly bypoll last year as a 'murder of democracy'.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami
CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Sunday alleged that the party had called for a boycott of the upcoming Vikravandi assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on July 10, as the election would not be free and fair.
Talking to reporters at the Madurai airport, EPS termed the Erode East assembly bypoll last year as a 'murder of democracy'. "Violations occurred on a large scale in Erode East where voters were treated like caged animals by 36 ministers who had camped out in the constituency," he said.
He went on to allege that "the Election Commission and the police will work hand in hand with the ruling DMK and shower more money on voters." Citing these, EPS questioned whether the upcoming bypoll could be regarded as a reliable and fair one.
On Chief Minister MK Stalin's hope of the DMK winning over 200 seats in the 2026 assembly polls, as said during his speech in Coimbatore on Saturday, EPS remarked that it was only Stalin’s dream and would not be realized. "In elections, it’s a cycle from victory to defeat and defeat to victory for political parties, it keeps changing," the opposition leader stated.
"Though the DMK and its allies won a considerable victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the AIADMK won the bypoll from Nilakottai. The DMK-led front secured 38 seats in 2019 LS polls, and in the 2021 assembly polls, the party claimed that it would secure 200 seats but the AIADMK bagged 75 seats. Therefore, people have been looking at general elections and Assembly elections differently," he said.
Further, expressing confidence, EPS said the AIADMK-led front would achieve a massive victory in the 2026 elections and emerge as a single majority party to form government in the state.
Meanwhile, while responding to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's claim that the AIADMK’s decision to boycott the Vikravandi bypoll was due to instructions 'from the top' to facilitate the electoral chances of the NDA candidate (PMK), EPS said that the AIADMK had no kind of link with Chidambaram and that the decision was solely taken by the AIADMK.
AIADMK treasurer Dindigul C Sreenivasan, Deputy Leader of the Opposition RB Udhayakumar, Madurai West MLA Sellur K Raju, Tiruparankundram MLA VV Rajan Chellappa, and others were present too, at the airport.