Tiruppur, Oct. 9 -- The counting of votes for the Dharapuram Assembly constituency by-election held on October 6 began on Friday, with the process scheduled to take place in 23 rounds across 14 tables.

Security has been tightened in Tiruppur with the police starting to barricade the city. The LRG Government Arts and Science College for Women has especially been placed under tight security cover to ensure smooth operations during the counting of votes.

A total of 22 candidates contested the by-election, including Sathyabama from Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Sukanya from DMK, Bhanumathi from AIADMK, Lakshmanan from the Communist Party of India (CPI), and Karthika of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK).

Polling was held at 320 polling stations a...