Apart from two factions of the AIADMK, Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar too has jumped into the fray
The by-election to the high-profile Radhakrishnan (RK) Nagar Assembly constituency — which fell vacant following the demise of Tamil Nadu former chief minister J Jayalalithaa — on April 12 is turning out to be a prestigious battle for the splinter factions of the ruling AIADMK and the opposition parties.
Unlike the previous bypolls that were boycotted by most of the opposition parties, this time all the parties are keen on testing the waters, given the uncertainty in the AIADMK and the three-way split in the votes of the ruling party.
Apart from two factions of the AIADMK, Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar too has jumped into the fray. Opposition parties the DMK, DMDK, BJP, PMK, and the People's Welfare Front (PWF) — comprising of CPM, CPI and VCK, all have announced their decision to contest the seat.
The opposition parties' keenness is in sharp contrast to the June 17, 2015 bypoll to the same seat when Jayalalithaa was making a bid to re-enter the Assembly after being acquitted in the disproportionate assets (DA) case by the Karnataka High Court. Except for the Left parties, all other opposition parties including the DMK boycotted the election then, alleging misuse of government machinery in such bypolls.
With three groups claiming the political legacy of Jayalalithaa, the Opposition, particularly the DMK, sense an opportunity to register a rare victory in a bypoll. Both the factions headed by AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala and former chief minister and party treasurer O Panneerselvam are claiming themselves as the real AIADMK.
Panneerselvam on Sunday announced that his candidate would contest in the 'two leaves' symbol as they are the real party. Panneerselvam camp has complained to the Election Commission on the appointment of Sasikala as general secretary in violation of the party by-laws. As per the AIADMK by-laws, the general secretary has to authorise the use of the party symbol, and hence the EC's decision on Sasikala's appointment will be crucial.
Deepa, the self-proclaimed political heir of Jayalalithaa who floated the 'MGR Amma Deepa Peravai', has already announced her candidature while Sasikala and Panneerselvam factions are yet to name their candidates. Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK) led by actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth declared its candidate on Sunday. Speculation is rife on BJP fielding its state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, who had lived in Royapuram near RK Nagar in North Chennai.
DMK working president MK Stalin has urged the democratic forces including Left and VCK to extend support for his party's candidate. CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan, however, told DNA that the PWF was floated with the idea of maintaining a separate identity. "A decision on which party will be fielding the front candidate will be taken soon," he said.
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