A day after polls to 38 Lok Sabha seats and 18 assembly seats concluded in the state, the AIADMK has invited applications for the four pending bye-elections in the state. In a press release on Friday, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu directed lawmaker hopefuls to purchase applications worth Rs 25,000 and submit it the same day on Sunday, April 21.
Bye-polls to the four constituencies of Aravakurichi, Thiruparankundram, Ottapidaram(SC) and Aravakurichi will he held on May 19, nearly a month after the Lok Sabha and 18 bye-elections. While a gazette notification will be issued on April 22, the last date for filing nominations will be April 29. Nominations would be scrutinised by April 30 and candidates can withdraw their candidatures by May 2.
The EC announcement to hold polls came even as the DMK moved the Supreme Court over conducting three of four assembly bye-polls: Aravakurichi, Thiruparankundram and Ottapidaram(SC). These seats were vacant after the 18 MLAs were disqualified. The EC had not announced polls here citing cases pending in court.
The Aravakurichi and Ottapidaram constituencies have been without representatives in the state assembly since September 2017. MLAs V Senthil Balaji and R Kandaraj were disqualified along with 16 of their colleagues under the Anti-Defection law. The MLAs, who were supporting ousted AIADMK Deputy General Secretary, now AMMK chief and RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran, were disqualified on the grounds that they had “voluntarily given up their party membership”.
AIADMK MLA R Kanagaraj of the ruling party passed away after a cardiac arrest in March this year necessitating bye-polls to the Sulur assembly constituency.
The DMK has already announced its candidates. Former Minister Pongalur N Palaniswami will contest from Sulur, P Saravanan from Thiruparankundram and MC Shanmugaiah from Ottapidaram. Former Aravakurichi MLA V Senthil Balaji, who abandoned TTV Dhinakaran for the DMK, has been given a ticket to seek re-election from the constituency.
Source: The News Minute