Congress candidate E V K S Elangovan was ahead of his nearest rival K S Thennarasu (AIADMK) by over 6,000 votes after the first round of counting on Thursday in the Erode East Assembly by-poll.
While 77 candidates are in the fray, the main contest is between former Union Minister E V K S Elangovan of the Congress backed by the ruling DMK and AIADMK's K S Thennarasu, a former legislator. Naam Tamilar Katchi's N Menaka and DMDK's S Anand are among the other candidates.
Tight security was provided in and around the counting centre, officials said.
The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MLA E Thirumagan Everaa on January 4.
Nearly 75 per cent votes were polled in the by-election held on February 27.
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