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Bypolls may become litmus test for Tamil Nadu government
Polling for 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state (the one in Vellore was deferred, following widespread bribing of voters), and by elections or 18 assembly constituencies happened on April 18.
Poll season isn’t really over in Tamil Nadu with the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) now fighting it out for four assembly seats that go to polls on May 19.
Polling for 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state (the one in Vellore was deferred, following widespread bribing of voters), and by elections or 18 assembly constituencies happened on April 18. There’s been widespread criticism on not holding the elections for the remaining four assembly seats along with those, with some claiming this has been done to favour the AIADMK.
The 22 assembly constituencies are critical. Which way they vote (or voted) will decide the fate of the current government headed by Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS).
After the disqualification of 18 legislators supporting Dhinakaran and the demise of three others, including DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and two AIADMK MLAs, the AIADMK’s numbers have come down to 113 in a truncated house of 216. The 113 includes the speaker. Of the remaining 103, three are with AMMK’s TTV Dhinakaran, three independents are fence sitters, the DMK has 88, the Congress, 8, and the Indian Union Muslim league, 1. Since the Government needs 120 MLAs for a simple majority in the 238 member assembly, the AIADMK has to win a minimum of 8 seats of the 22, considered an uphill task. In the event of Dhinakaran’s AMMK winning a few seats, the situation might force fresh realignments.
It is in this context that the decision to hold the by polls in two phases has drawn the ire of the opposition.
“It is a clear case of favouring the ruling AIADMK to have adequate time to pump in resources and manage the show. When the LS poll in Vellore was countermanded because of cash for vote vitiating the atmosphere, how come the EC does not rescind the bypoll for two assembly segments in that constituency?” argues Associate professor C Lakshmanan of Madras Institute of Development Studies.
Incidentally, the Madras High Court too pulled up the poll panel for not holding elections to Thirupararankundram citing pendency of a case, in which no orders were passed, as a lame excuse.
The DMK has approached the Chief Election Commissioner thrice and even moved the Supreme Court seeking that all 22 assembly constituencies go to polls on the same day, but to no avail.
“Though the EC’s action smacks of bias, we have ultimately ensured in holding the be-elections for all the constituencies within the LS poll schedule. The AIADMK has used all the tricks and will be employing them again. However, we are confident of securing the people’s mandate, a decisive mandate,” said RS Bharathi, MP, DMK organizing secretary.
