47 candidates in Erode East bypoll fray as 8 including AIADMK ‘rebel’ back off

COIMBATORE: As B Senthil Murugan, the former joint secretary of AIADMK’s MGR youth wing in Erode, withdrew his nomination for Erode East bypoll, after being sacked for violating party line, the total number of candidates in fray for the byelection is at 47 for the February 5 polls.

Of the 58 nominations filed by candidates to contest the bypoll, necessitated by the demise of Congress leader EVKS Elangovan, three applications were rejected for being incomplete, while the remaining 55 were accepted after scrutiny on January 18.

On Monday, the last day to withdraw nominations, eight persons decided against contesting the bypoll, leaving 47 candidates in the fray.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami expelled B Senthil Murugan from primary membership for filing his nomination to contest as an independent despite AIADMK announcing it would boycott the bypoll. As the deadline for withdrawing nominations ended by 3 pm, the election authorities prepared a final list of candidates and allotted symbols.

The Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) candidate MK Seethalakshmi, who is pitted against the DMK’s VC Chandhirakumar, was allotted the mike symbol. The NTK, which contested in the sugarcane farmer symbol since the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, was allotted the mike symbol in the last Lok Sabha polls. “The mike symbol has garnered recognition in our party’s political history. It has also reached out well among the electorate,” she said.

Meanwhile, NTK candidate Seethalakshmi and three other party functionaries were booked by Veerappanchatram police for campaigning at Netaji vegetable market on Monday morning without police permission. She was booked on Sunday, too, for taking out a door-to-door campaign in Jeevanagar in Karungalpalayam without permission.

“It is undemocratic to prevent me from exercising my right to meet people during polls. I will face the cases legally,” she said.