Chennai, Oct 19 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday announced its support to the ruling AIADMK in the Dec 4 Yercaud bypoll to the Tamil Nadu assembly.

The party's state secretary G.Ramakrishnan said the CPI-M has decided to support the AIADMK following its request and also taking into account the political situation at the national and the state levels.

On Oct 17 the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its decision not to contest the Yercaud by-election to the state assembly.

On extending its support to others or taking a different stand, the BJP said it would decide after seeing the parties and the candidates in the fray.

The DMK has already named V. Maran as its candidate for the bypoll.

The by-election in the hill station constituency, around 360 km from here, has been necessitated after sitting AIADMK legislator C. Perumal died in July. 

Perumal's passing caused the AIADMK's strength in the 235-member assembly to come down to 150. The DMDK is the second largest party in the assembly with 29, followed by the DMK with 23.

This will be the fourth by-election to the Tamil Nadu assembly after the AIADMK came to power in May 2011. It won all three earlier bypolls in Pudukottai, Sankarankoil and Tiruchirapalli (West) constituencies.

According to the Election Commission's poll schedule, nominations for the Yercaud bypoll could be filed Nov 9-16 and the scrutiny of the papers would be held Nov 18. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is Nov 20.

The poll is slated for Dec 4, and vote count would be held on Dec 8 -- the same date when ballots cast in the elections to five state assemblies would be counted.