Chennai: The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the Erode East bypoll in Tamil Nadu, with its candidate V.C. Chandhirakumar resoundly beating Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) candidate M.K. Seethalakshmi by a massive margin of 91,558 votes.
With all 20 rounds of counting done, Chandhirakumar secured 1,15,709 votes, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Seethalakshmi was trailing since counting began around 7 am, ending up with a total of 24,151 votes.
With the major opposition parties, AIADMK and BJP, opting out of the bypolls, NTK, led by former film director Seeman, stood as the only significant opposition.
Ever since the bypolls were announced, Seeman’s harsh criticism of Dravidian stalwart and social reformer E.V. Ramasamy, known as Periyar, framed the electoral contest as a battle between “Dravidianism” and “Tamil nationalism”.
On winning in Erode East, which is Periyar’s native district, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said that attempts to tarnish Periyar’s legacy with false claims would not succeed.
“It is once again proven that this is the land of Periyar, and people will not succumb to any false propaganda against Dravidianism,” Saravanan told ThePrint.
Political analysts in Tamil Nadu say that a victory for the ruling party in the bypolls is not unusual.
Political commentator Raveendran Duraisamy pointed out that NTK’s participation in the Erode East bypolls sends a message to its supporters across the state.
“When the major opposition parties chose not to contest, NTK’s decision to contest in the bypolls makes it the primary opposition to Dravidian ideology, sending a signal to its supporters across all 234 assembly constituencies ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu election,” Duraisamy said.
NTK functionaries maintain that their opposition to Dravidianism would continue irrespective of electoral outcomes.
Youth wing coordinator Idumbavanam Karthik emphasised that their political journey would not be halted by electoral results.
“Since 2016, we have contested independently in every election and will continue to do so. Temporary defeats won’t deter our fight against the Dravidian parties,” he said, speaking to ThePrint.
The Erode East bypoll was necessitated after the sudden demise last December of Congress MLA and senior leader EVKS Elangovan, who had won in the by-election held in 2023.
The 2023 bypoll was necessitated after the death of Congress MLA E. Thirumahan Everaa, who was the son of Elangovan.
DMK’s candidate Chandhirakumar was previously with Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, founded by actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, fondly called as Captain.
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Fight between Dravidianism and Tamil nationalism?
Despite Seeman’s vigorous campaigning and attempts to frame the fight as one between Dravidianism and Tamil nationalism, NTK struggled to make a dent in the DMK’s stronghold.
Tamil nationalists and Dravidian ideologues refuse to accept that Seeman is following Tamil nationalism.
General secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement Thozhar Thiyagu, known as Comrade Thiyagu, claimed that Tamil nationalism was not just based on language identity alone.
“What Seeman is speaking is Tamil chauvinism, and it is not Tamil nationalism. Dravidian ideology is inclusive of Tamil nationalism that protects Tamil identity and culture without discriminating against other languages. It is also inclusive of people of all languages and it determines people not based on just the language they speak, but also based on the geography,” Thiyagu told ThePrint.
During the election campaign, Seeman even went on to recall how Periyar, a Dravidian icon, once called Tamil the “language of barbarians”. In one of the press conferences, Seeman also claimed that Periyar was “promoting incestuous relations”. The claim sparked controversy in the state as Periyar is seen as a champion of social justice and rationalism by the majority of people.
Seeman’s remarks also invited widespread protests by Periyarist outfits and political parties in Tamil Nadu, after which over 50 FIRs were filed against him.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)