CHENNAI: AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of the opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Sunday alleged that the party had called for a boycott of the upcoming Vikravandi assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on July 10, as the election would not be free and fair.
Talking to reporters at the Madurai airport, EPS termed the Erode East assembly bypoll last year as a 'murder of democracy'. He went on to allege that "the Election Commission and the police will work hand in hand with the ruling DMK and shower more money on voters." Citing this, EPS questioned whether the upcoming bypoll could be regarded as a reliable and fair one.
On Chief Minister MK Stalin's hope of the DMK winning over 200 seats in the 2026 assembly polls, as said during his speech in Coimbatore on Saturday, EPS remarked that it was only Stalin’s dream and would not be realized. "In elections, it’s a cycle from victory to defeat and defeat to victory for political parties, it keeps changing," the opposition leader stated.
Expressing confidence, EPS said the AIADMK-led front would achieve a massive victory in the 2026 elections and emerge as a single majority party to form government in the state.
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