Why BJP Did Not Contest Bypoll In Tamil Nadu

The BJP was in a dilemma regarding the Erode East Assembly bypoll in Tamil Nadu for a seat that became vacant with the death of Congress leader EVKS Elangovan. Having promised a seat to GK Vasan’s TMC, the party did not wish to go back on its word and take over the seat. At the same time, it was fearful of Vasan’s party being wiped out in the poll and finishing far behind Seeman’s NTK. A very poor performance by an ally would not have suited the national party either, which is why it decided not to contest and announcing it was following the AIADMK in boycotting the poll because the election would be fixed by the ruling DMK in bringing hordes of voters into nearby meeting places and then transporting them to the booths. AIADMK had decided to withdraw from the poll to give BJP the chance of putting up what could be a common candidate representing the opposition to the DMK in the state. The BJP boycott means the contest would be a walkover for the DMK that will face the only recognised party in the LTTE leader Prabhakaran-loving Tamil nationalist party NTK that has not won a single election so far. In any case, the seat will only be for a little more than a year as the Assembly elections to all 234 seats are to be held in the summer of 2026.