Bypoll Result: Congress surges ahead in Erode East
Erode (TN) (PTI): Congress' EVKS Elangovan established a comfortable lead of over 18,000 votes against his nearest rival KS Thennarasu of the AIADMK in the Erode East bypoll, counting of which was proceeding on Thursday.
The clear lead of the ruling DMK backed Elangovan, at the end of the third round of counting, prompted celebrations from supporters of the Dravidian party-headed Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), whose other constituents include the two Left parties.
After 3 rounds of counting, Elangovan secured 27,843 votes while Thennarasu polled 9,146 votes. according to election authorities.
Menaka Navaneethan Naam Tamilar Katchi and DMDK's Anand secured 1,820 and 256 votes, respectively.
Commenting on the early trends that could possibly ensure his win, Elangovan said it was an indication that SPA would sweep the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state as well. While Tamil Nadu has 39 LS seats, neighbouring Puducherry has one.
The Erode East bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA E Thirumahan Everaa, Elangovan's son on January 4.
Nearly 75 per cent votes were polled in the by-election held on February 27 in this constituency in Erode district, located some 400 km from capital Chennai.
Tamil Nadu | DMK and Congress workers celebrate as DMK-backed Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan leads in #ErodeEastByPolls with a margin of more than 10,000 votes, as per official EC trends. pic.twitter.com/Widrdvabmf
— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2023
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Shashi Tharoor calls for regulation and taxation instead of banning online gaming
New Delhi(PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday criticised the government’s move to ban online money gaming, warning that such a step would only push the industry underground and strengthen criminal networks.
He also said he had not studied the three Constitution amendment bills seeking to provide a framework for the removal of prime ministers, Union ministers, chief ministers and state ministers detained on serious criminal charges in any detail.
“On the face of it, it is difficult to say it has any problem, but obviously if anyone does something wrong they should not be a minister anyway. I don’t know if there is any other motive,” he remarked.
Discussing the bill seeking to prohibit and regulate online gaming introduced in the Lok Sabha, he said, "I had written a very long article on the argument that by banning online gaming we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could be a useful source of revenue for the government if we legalise it, regulate it and tax it."
He added that many countries have studied the issue in detail and concluded that regulation and taxation can generate funds for social causes, while bans merely enrich “criminal mafias”.
In a post on X, Tharoor recalled that he had “gone on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia”.
“It’s a pity that the government seems to have derived no lessons from the experience of other countries that have considered this issue,” he wrote.
He added that the bill should at least have been referred to a parliamentary committee “to consider all the pros and cons before rushing it into law”.
The proposed bill prohibits online money gaming and its advertisements, prescribing imprisonment or fines, or both, for violators. It differentiates such games from eSports and online social games, while calling for their promotion.
1/2 I went on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia. https://t.co/KYi2aTxDQQ
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2025
