Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Won't contest RK Nagar bypoll: DMDK

  • The RK Nagar seat remains vacant after the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
  • The byelections are scheduled to be held by the end of this year.
  • Vijayakanth, chief of DMDK said that the fall of the present AIADMK factions in the byelection is unavoidable.
Wont contest RK Nagar bypoll DMDK

Amid chaos and confusion as to who would fill up the vacant place in the RK Nagar constituency after the death of J Jayalalithaa and when would the byelections take place, some clarity has been received on the latter after he EC announced that the polls will be held at the end of 2017.

Meanwhile, DMDK chief Vijayakanth said on Friday that his party will not be contesting the RK Nagar byelections as he believes that the state will face general elections way ahead of the poll schedule announced for the constituency. Vijayakanth's party drew a blank at the 2016 Assembly elections as he himself lost from Ulundurpet constituency in Villupuram district. He said that he had no confidence in the ruling government as the latter was unable to control dengue.

Speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, he said, "There is no point in contesting RK Nagar byelections. But I feel Tamil Nadu will face general elections much before that. This government will not last long." This, he said while visiting Dengue patients at the Stanley Government Medical College and Hospital here. He also predicted that the AIADMK will fail miserably by the end of the year even before the elections are held.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner AK Jyoti, invoked a special clause in the law to postpone by elections, considering the "extraordinary situation" in the state. The elections, if held by December, will be the first acid test for the EPS-OPS government after the much-talked about merger in August. Tamil Nadu politics has reached rock bottom, with TTV Dhinakaran fighting hard to dismantle the coalition and the ruling government. Speaker, P. Dhanapal has already disqualified 18 MLAs supporting Dhinakaran and the case is pending before the Madras High Court. 

Cancellation of bypolls to RK Nagar also came after the Income Tax Department allegedly covered documents that said Rs 89 crore was to be distributed among voters of the constituency by members of the ruling AIADMK. The documents is said to have the names of top brass of the government. 

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios