With the DMK-Congress candidate for the Erode East bye-poll, EVKS Elangovan leading by a huge margin, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “On the campaign trail, I had asked the people not to view this as a bye-poll alone, but as an evaluation of the Dravidian Model of governance. So the people have evaluated us and given us an immense victory. The results are a prelude to the victory we will get in the Lok Sabha elections coming soon.” The Lok Sabha polls are set to take place in 2024.
As of 3:30 pm on Thursday, March 2, EVKS was leading by a margin of over 48,000 votes at the end of the tenth round of counting for the Erode East bye-poll. The All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) KS Thennarasu, was trailing with 28,239 votes and the Menakha Naveneetham was in third place with 4062 votes.
Congratulating EVKS, Stalin also said, “The people of the region have given a historic victory to a candidate representing our Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). I thank the people with all my heart.” Stalin also spoke about Opposition leader Edappadi K Palanisamy (EPS) and said, “The people of the region have given him a fitting lesson.”
In answer to a question from the media if the prime ministerial candidate during the Lok Sabha elections could come from Tamil Nadu, Stalin replied, “More than who should be prime minister, our focus now is on who should not be prime minister and who should not be in power.”
Stalin further thanked the DMK party leadership, district-level secretaries, cadres and leaders in other parties in the Secular Progressive Alliance for their work in the lead-up to the Erode East bye-poll.