Jayalalithaa constitutes working group to oversee by-poll preparations

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Friday constituted a 43-member working group, which included almost the entire state cabinet, to oversee preparations for the June 12 by-election to the Pudukottai assembly seat.

Several ministers as well as leaders of party's various frontal organisations have been entrusted with the task of ensuring the victory of party nominee VR Karthik Thondaiman, Pudukottai Municipal Chairman, in the by-poll.

Hailing from the Thondaiman family, which ruled the erstwhile Pudukottai princely state, 42-year-old Karthik is the district MGR Youth Wing leader.

By-poll to the constituency has been necessitated following the death of CPI legislator SP Muthukumaran in a road mishap on April one.

CPI and PMK have already decided not to contest the by-election. 
In the 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Muthukumaran of CPI in the AIADMK-led alliance defeated DMK candidate Periyannan Arasu but AIADMK and CPI parted ways for the civic polls.