While Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O.P. Rawat cited the non-declaration of vacancy in two constituencies — Thiruparankundram and Tiruvarur — and the pendency of cases in court as the reasons for not declaring the dates for the byelections to these constituencies, he also mentioned that he had received a note from Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan.
Ms. Vaidyanathan, on her part, cited two reasons for deferring the bypolls – the likelihood of heavy rain during October-December and a case pending in the Madras High Court against the election of the now-deceased A.K. Bose from Thiruparankundram in November 2016.
In her letter to the CEC, the Chief Secretary referred to the Meteorological Department’s forecast on September 29 that the rainfall for Tamil Nadu “is likely to be above normal” during the northeast monsoon (October-December), which would be 112% of the long period average (LPA). [A release issued by the Meteorological Department a week ago stated that the LPA of the monsoon’s seasonal rainfall over Tamil Nadu was 43.82 cm, considering 1951-2000 as the base period.]
She recalled that in the last three years, there were “natural calamities” due to “excess rainfall” and cyclones during the monsoon. Thiruvarur, being located in the Cauvery delta, “is likely to be affected by heavy rains during this period. As the State machinery would be fully mobilised to handle these contingencies, it is not advisable to notify byelections during this period,” she stated.
As for Thiruparankundram constituency, Ms. Vaidyanathan referred to a petition filed by P. Saravanan of the DMK — who contested the November 2016 byelection — questioning the validity of the nomination filed by Bose. As the case was posted for final arguments on October 23, the Election Commission notifying the bypoll now “may be perceived as being an attempt to over-reach the powers of the High Court,” she said, adding that it would not be advisable to issue the poll schedule till the Court settled the matter.
