Candidate for Erode East by-poll to be out in 2 days: GK Vasan

CHENNAI: Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) leader G K Vasan on Thursday said that the AIADMK-led alliance would announce candidate for the Erode East Constituency by-poll within two days. He exuded confidence that the AIADMK alliance would emerge victorious in the by-poll as the anti-incumbency against the ruling DMK party is growing thick and fast.

Deflecting the question whether his party would field its candidate in the by-poll that was scheduled on February 27, Vasan said, “The alliance should win the by-poll and it is our aim. There should not be any difference of opinion on this. After holding talks with the leaders of the alliance parties, the candidate for the by-poll will be announced in a day or two.”

After the announcement of the by-poll for the constituency on Wednesday, he contacted AIADMK’s interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami over the phone. Later in the day, EPS called him and held a talk regarding the poll, said Vasan.

Following this, the senior leaders of the AIADMK that is heading the alliance in the state visited the party office and held discussion on the strategy to win the by-poll, said Vasan after holding talks with senior AIADMK leaders D Jayakumar, Valarmathi, Gokila Indra and Benjamin.

When a journalist questioned whether TMC (M) is ready to forgo the seat to its ally AIADMK, he reiterated that the alliance parties’ leaders would come to a consensus (on candidate) and announce it soon.

AIADMK spokesperson and former minister Jayakumar intervened and said the question is far-fetched as they just started the “preliminary” exercise of the election works.

On the announcement of a 14-member committee by BJP, one of the allies, for the by-poll without consulting the alliance parties, he dodged the question and quipped they would get appropriate answers for their question in a day or two.

He also shrugged away from the question that BJP was keen on going alone in the by-poll and even ready to announce the candidate and said, it was incorrect information and ended the presser abruptly.

The by-poll for the constituency was necessitated following the demise of Congress MLA E Thirumahan Everaa, who died due to cardiac arrest on January 4, and it would be the first by-poll for the 16th Assembly of the state.

In the AIADMK-led alliance, the seat was allocated to G K Vasan’s TMC (M) in the 2021 Assembly poll. The party fielded M Yuvaraja in the ‘Two-Leaves’ symbol against Everaa of the DMK’s ally Congress. Everaa had secured the seat with a margin of 8,904 votes.