Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) founder TTV Dhinakaran Tuesday announced that his party will not contest in the Erode (East) Assembly by-poll. He added that they have taken the decision as the Election Commission (EC) did not allow them to use the pressure cooker symbol on which the party had contested previous polls. Dhinakaran’s party had named Sivaprashant as its candidate and he even filed his nomination last Friday. On Tuesday, Dhinakaran in a statement noted that as per the recommendation of the party’s high command, they have decided not to contest the by-poll. “With Lok Sabha polls set to take place in less than a year, contesting under a new symbol will create unnecessary confusion. We will face the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls with our victorious pressure cooker symbol,” he said. The by-poll, necessitated by the death of Congress MLA Thirumahan Everaa, is scheduled to take place on February 27. With Congress nominee EVKS Elangovan contesting on behalf of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, the NDA alliance comprising the AIADMK, the BJP, and the Tamil Maanila Congress has nominated former AIADMK MLA KS Thenaarasu as its candidate. Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi and Captain Vijayakant’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) are the other players in the by-poll.
