Tamil Nadu is back in the election mode as the AIADMK and the DMK on Wednesday declared the names of their respective candidates for the crucial April 12 by-poll scheduled from RK Nagar Assembly constituency.
The AIADMK (Sasikala faction) has fielded TTV Dinakaran, the 53-year-old deputy general secretary of the party while the DMK sprang a surprise by nominating N Maruduganesh alias NM Ganesh as its candidate.
The constituency is all set to see a multi-cornered contest as the O Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK is expected to announce the name of its candidate.
Deepa Patrick Madhavan, who heads the MAD Party and the niece of late J Jayalalithaa has already declared that she would be contesting from the constituency and both the AIADMK factions are welcome to support her.
Dinakaran is the son of Vanithamani, younger sister of VK Sasikala, the jailed General secretary of the AIADMK. Sasikala had readmitted Dinakaran into the party and nominated him as the deputy general secretary on February 15, a day after the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict delivered by the Bangalore Special Court in the Disproportionate Asset case. The Bangalore court had sentenced Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, Elavarasi and Sudhakaran (the last two being family members of Sasikala) to four years imprisonment and fines ranging from `100 crore to `10 crore.
late Jayalalithaa, while she was alive, had ousted Sasikala and all her family members from the AIADMKl as well as her residence in Poes Garden in December 2011. Though Sasikala was readmitted to the party after six months, the other members of her family continued to be persona non grata in AIADMK. It was only after Jayalaliathaa’s demise that the members of the Sasikala clan could re-enter Veda Nilayam, late Jayalaluthaa’s residence. The Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK has been describing the appointment of Dinakaran as deputy general secretary of the party as an effort by the members of her clan to hijack the party.
Speaking to reporters at the AIADMK headquarters, Dinakaran said all parties except the DMK were welcome to support him. “I hope to contest on the Two leaves symbol of the AIADMK and will win by more than 50,000 votes,” he said. But Dinakaran’s hopes of getting the Two leaves symbol rest with the Election Commission of India. The ECI is examining the petition submitted by the Panneerselvam faction challenging the appointment of Sasikala as the general secretary of the AIADMK.
Interestingly, R K Nagar is the constituency represented by late Jayalalithaa . In a by-poll held in 2015, she had won from this constituency with a margin of 1,50, 722 votes. In the general election held in May 2016, Jayalalithaa retained the seat with a margin of 39, 545 votes. Maruduganesh, the candidate fielded by the DMK is a local man and known face in the constituency.
In the recent past, the opposition has not been able to win even a single by-poll in Tamil Nadu. The April 12 by-poll is crucial for the Edappadi Palaniswamy-led Tamil Nadu government as this is the first referendum on the AIADMK government post-Jayalalithaa’s demise. The controversy about the medical treatment given to the late chief minister, the usurping of power by members of the Sasikala family, the farmers’ suicides in different parts of the State and the scarcity of water are some of the burning issues expexted to figure in the by-poll along with the legacy of Jayalalithaa.