Erode (East)
Erode East — TVK's Vijay Balaji takes Turmeric City east by 23,966 votes over Congress
TVK's M. Vijay Balaji took Erode (East) — the eastern half of Erode city, India's 'Manjal Nagaram' (Turmeric City) and home of the GI-tagged Erode turmeric — by 23,966 votes over Congress's Gopinath Palaniyappan. The seat has had three different alliance holds in three cycles: DMDK's V. C. Chandhirakumar won in 2011 by 10,644 votes; AIADMK's K. S. Thennarasu in 2016 by 7,794; INC's E. Thirumagan Evera in 2021 by 8,904. After Thirumagan's death in January 2023, INC's E. V. K. S. Elangovan won the resulting bypoll by 66,575 votes — the seat's first six-figure-margin result. TVK's 2026 win is the largest non-bypoll margin in Erode East's short post-delimitation history.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M.VIJAY BALAJI | TVK | 69,747 | 43.25% |
| 2 | GOPINATH PALANIYAPPAN | CONG | 45,781 | 28.39% |
| 3 | R.MANOHARAN | AIADMK | 38,183 | 23.68% |
| 4 | S.THANDAVAMOORTHY | NTK | 4,987 | 3.09% |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 879 | 0.55% |
Postal ballot breakdown
Postal-ballot leader differs from overall winner. INC GOPINATH PALANIYAPPAN led postal ballots (454), but TVK M.VIJAY BALAJI won the seat overall (69,747).
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOPINATH PALANIYAPPAN | INC | 454 | 45,327 | 45,781 |
| 2 | M.VIJAY BALAJI | TVK | 363 | 69,384 | 69,747 |
| 3 | R.MANOHARAN | AIADMK | 279 | 37,904 | 38,183 |
| 4 | S.THANDAVAMOORTHY | NTK | 63 | 4,924 | 4,987 |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 28 | 851 | 879 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
Past results
Verified winners and runners-up across the last five elections, with the major alliance partners each side fielded.
Erode East was created by the 2008 delimitation; first contest was 2011. The seat has produced a different alliance winner every cycle — DMDK (2011), AIADMK (2016), INC on DMK ticket (2021), TVK (2026). After E. Thirumagan Evera's death in January 2023, INC's E. V. K. S. Elangovan won the resulting March 2023 bypoll by 66,575 votes — the largest margin the seat had then produced. Gopinath Palaniyappan, the 2026 INC runner-up, contested on the DMK alliance ticket.
About Erode East
Erode (East) — AC 98 — covers the eastern half of Erode city, the Kongu-belt urban centre known across Tamil Nadu as 'Manjal Nagaram' — Turmeric City — for the GI-tagged Erode turmeric whose deep-yellow rhizomes anchor the city's wholesale yards. The constituency was created by the 2008 delimitation and held its first contest in 2011. The seat has produced a different alliance winner each cycle: DMDK in 2011, AIADMK in 2016, INC (DMK alliance) in 2021, and TVK in 2026 — with a high-profile Congress bypoll win in 2023 after the sitting MLA's death.
Erode East & Turmeric City
Erode East is the eastern wing of India's Turmeric City — Manjal Nagaram, where GI-tagged Erode turmeric still leaves the wholesale yards by the truckload. Drive 12 km north-east to Bhavani for the Sangameswarar Temple at the meeting of the Cauvery, Bhavani and the mythical Amudha — one of South India's rare three-river sangams — then on to the Bhavani Sagar dam for an evening boat ride. Kodumudi's Magudeswarar shrine and the Kongu jaggery markets at Perundurai both make easy half-day add-ons.
Plan your trip on TN Explorer →