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ECI defers bypolls to Tiruvottiyur and Gudiyatham assembly seats

CHENNAI: The Election Commission a has deferred byelections to the assembly constituencies of Tiruvottiyur (Chennai) and Gudiyatham (Vellore district), due in August, until the situation is conducive. The constituencies, represented by the DMK, had fallen vacant in February after the demise of K P P Samy and S Kathavarayan.




The seats will have to be filled through byelections within six months under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The two constituencies do not have elected local body representatives either, since the state election commission has not yet conducted elections to rural local bodies in the reconstituted Vellore district nor to urban local bodies. Kathavarayan won a bypoll in May last year, after AIADMK MLA C Jayanthi Padmanaban, was disqualified under anti-defection law, when she switched loyalties to AMMK with 17 MLAs.

“In Gudiyattam, the livelihood of women is affected as there are not enough MGNREGA jobs. There is no work in beedi and match box manufacturing units during the pandemic. Absence of elected representatives is being felt these days,” said former CPI MLA G Latha. Residents, mostly daily wagers, in the constituency rely on the tanneries of Ambur and Peranambut. The Gudiyatham municipality, with 441 Covid positive cases as of Wednesday, had planned for an intense lockdown for a week from Thursday night. But that has now been deferred. Another intense lockdown could hit the workforce further.

Tiruvottiyur in north Chennai is a hotspot with 100 deaths. It tops the list in mortality rate along with Teyanmpet. While the ruling AIADMK is banking on minister R B Udayakumar, deputed to oversee Covid management, the DMK’s local area secretaries are also chipping in. “But elections should be held even if it is only a few months before the general elections. There is no accountability on the government’s Covid work and there is a plethora of complaints,” R Jayaraman, chairman of erstwhile Tiruvottiyur municipality, said.

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