A Union Minister from Tamil Nadu, who is also the lone BJP MP from the State, has sent a distress message to the Centre about widespread irregularities in the local bodies bypolls scheduled for September 18. Pon Radhakrishnan, Minister of State for Heavy Industries told media at Coimbatore on Sunday that democracy has become a laughing stock in Tamil Nadu following abduction, kidnapping and threatening of Opposition party candidates by the ruling AIADMK.
“We will submit a formal complaint to the State Election Commission asking for the postponement of the bypolls to the local bodies though we do not expect anything would come out of it,” said Radhakrishnan.
The BJP suffered major jolts in the run up to the bypolls with its mayoral candidate for Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation and one of the nominees for municipal chairmanship withdrawing from the race on the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers. The mayoral candidate GPR Vellaiyammal has joined the AIADMK since then.
The election to the post of Ramanathapuram municipality chairman too has become a major controversy with D Kuppuramu, the BJP’s election manager alleging that the AIADMK leaders has offered Rs5 crore to Dorai Kannan, the BJP candidate asking him to withdraw from the race.
“The AIADMK has deputed five Ministers for campaigning at Ramanathapuram. The party MP Anwar Raja is the master brain behind this operation,””charged Kuppuramu who contested the 2014 lok Sabha election as a BJP nominee from Ramanathapuram but was defeated by Anwar Rajaa.
In an interesting move, Dr. Tamilissai Soundarrajan, the newly appointed president of the BJP’s State unit has asked the Congress and other Opposition parties to support her party candidates in the bypolls to the local bodies to be held on September 18. Except the lefts, no other Opposition parties are contesting the bypolls because of the money and muscle power being wielded by the AIADMK. Parties like the DMDK, MDMK, PMK who are not contesting the bypolls have offered their support to the BJP candidates.
The DMK had announced its decision not to contest the bypolls to the local bodies citing widespread malpractices and threatening by the ruling AIADMK. But the AIADMK leaders have termed baseless all the charges by the BJP leaders. “We will sweep the election because of the good work done by Amma during the last three years. The BJP knows well that the people would stand by Amma,” said an AIADMK leader. Police too denied charges by the BJP of abduction and threatening of the party candidates.