AIADMK, DMK start campaign at RK Nagar

Without wasting time, the ruling AIADMK and the main opposition DMK have started campaigning for the by-election at R K Nagar, soon after the candidates were named.

T T V Dinakaran, the AIADMK Deputy General Secretary and the nephew of V K Sasikala, was on Tuesday nominated as the party's candidate for the RK Nagar bypoll scheduled for April 12.

A few minutes after the AIADMK announced Dinakaran as its candidate in R K Nagar, DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan released a statement announcing Marudhu Ganesh as the candidate.

DMDK candidate Mathivanan is also in the race. The constituency fell vacant following former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s death on 5 December.

The resentment between the Sasikala camp and former chief minister O. Panneerselvam’s rebel faction would heighten ahead of the polls as DMK would try to prove its mettle in Jayalalithaa’s absence given the instability within the AIADMK.

Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar, who has accused the Sasikala’s camp of trying to appropriate the late chief minister’s legacy, is also contesting.

Dinakaran said that he is expecting a massive win with a margin of 50,000 votes over his competitors. "The constituency was dearest to our former General Secretary and so we'll definitely win there and will continue her welfare and reform projects," he stated.