The Election Commission announced on Thursday that the bypoll to the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in northern Chennai, which fell vacant after the death of sitting legislator and former CM J Jayalalithaa, will be held on April 12. The model code of conduct has come into force. The counting of votes will be held on April 15. The poll panel’s announcement has set alarm bells ringing within the AIADMK, which is facing a tough fight owing to factionalism. According to a senior AIADMK leader, the party is unlikely to field T T V Dinakaran or anyone else from the family of the party’s interim general secretary V K Sasikala as they fear that the public sentiment is against her. “In the past, the ruling party has always been a favourite in bypolls. But, the situation has changed this time as AIADMK supporters are divided. Also, the rumours and allegations against Sasikala regarding her role in Jayalalithaa’s death may make it tougher for us,” said the leader. While it is unclear who the candidate of AIADMK’s official faction will be, there are indications that the Panneerselvam camp may field presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan. It is also not clear if Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar, who had extended support to Panneerselvam, will enter the poll fray. Meanwhile, the opposition DMK is confident of a good show in the bypolls. A source close to DMK working president M K Stalin said they will easily win the election with a margin of not less than 30,000 votes as the AIADMK votes will be divided between candidates fielded by the Sasikala and Panneerselvam factions. The source said DMK is likely to field Shimla Muthuchozhan, a lawyer and daughter-in-law of former minister S P Sargunapandian. Muthuchozhan was the DMK candidate from the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency even in 2016, when she lost to Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa had won the June 2015 by-election in the Assembly segment with a margin of 1.5 lakh votes, but the margin dipped to 39,545 votes in the May 2016 bypolls.
