The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) nominated well-known music composer Ilayaraja's brother Gangai Amaran as its candidate for the April 12 bypoll in the RK Nagar assembly constituency which was represented by the late J Jayalalithaa.

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Gangai Amaran,  who is himself a well-known music director, famously accused AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala Natarajan of grabbing his farmhouse by paying peanuts. He was a witness in the disproportionate assets case against former chief minister Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and others. 

He joined the BJP in December 2014 and was appointed as Patron of the party’s art cell.

BJP’s election cell secretary JP Nadda announced the name of the music director in New Delhi even as speculation was rife that the party might nominate either BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan or actress Gowthami, who had been seeking probe in Jayalalithaa’s demise. 

The saffron party’s decision to nominate a film personality might turn the bypoll into a five cornered contest with Sasikala's nephew TTV Dinakaran, veteran AIADMK leader E Madhusudanan, Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar and DMK’s candidate Maruthuganesh pitched against each other.

Meanwhile, Deepa Jayakumar, who is hoping to carry on the legacy of her aunt Jayalalithaa by contesting the RK Nagar bypoll, faced a setback of sorts when her husband, Madhavan, on Friday announced that he would quit the political forum, MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, founded by his wife, and start his own party.  He announced this after dramatically arriving at Jayalalithaa’s memorial at Marina on Friday night. Madhavan said that Deepa was being controlled by “evil forces” which had taken over the outfit, but claimed he had no differences with her.