Erode: Erode: Voting for the bypoll in the Erode East Assembly constituency concluded peacefully on Wednesday, with the voter turnout expected to cross at least 65%, according to election authorities.

The polling took place across 237 booths in the constituency, and the process was largely smooth with no major incidents reported.

A total of 46 candidates, including 44 independents, contested the election, but the main competition was between VC Chandirakumar of the ruling DMK and M K Seethalakshmi of the Tamil nationalist party, Naam Tamizhar Katchi.

The election has seen a boycott from opposition parties, including the main opposition AIADMK.

Security measures were robust, with both state police and personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces deployed across the constituency. Nine polling booths were marked as sensitive, with additional security personnel stationed to ensure a smooth voting process.

Officials said polling was stopped for ten minutes at the Brahmana Periya Agraharam polling station due to a technical fault in an EVM and it was replaced with another machine. When a woman claimed she was not allowed to vote as another woman had already cast her vote, it briefly led to a flutter and she argued with officials before leaving the polling station.

The Erode East segment which has a total of 2,27,546 voters began voting at 7 am and ended at 6 pm. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress legislator EVKS Elangovan in 2024. PTI