Soon after the Election Commission announced that the bypoll to R K Nagar Assembly constituency would be held on December 21, AIADMK rebel faction leader T T V Dinakaran said he is ready to contest if the party and cadres allow him. DMK leader Kanimozhi, however, said the EC announcement raised suspicion as it came a day after the poll panel settled the AIADMK symbol row. The EC on Friday declared the dates for the by-election to R K Nagar seat, which fell vacant following the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5 last year. Filing of nominations will begin on November 27 and end on December 4. Counting is on December 24. EVMs along with VVPAT will be used in the bypoll. With the announcement, the model code of conduct came into effect in Chennai district. The constituency is situated north of the city. The bypoll was to be held in April, but it was cancelled on allegations of corruption and charges of bribing voters. A Madras High Court order to the EC to complete the election in the constituency before December 30 has now led to the notification, a day after the EC settled the AIADMK symbol row in favour of a party faction led by Deputy CM O Panneerselvam and CM Edappadi K Palaniswami. While BJP and CPI leaders said they hadn’t taken a decision on contesting from R K Nagar, DMDK leader L K Sudheesh said his party would not contest as the election is largely controlled by powers much above the EC. Dalit party VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said that even if there is no formal alliance between the BJP and AIADMK ruling faction, it is evident that they are working together. “As long as the BJP is using its power in conducting election, it will not be transparent or free. Still, we will take a decision soon as it is a democratic process,” he said. DMK leader T K S Elangovan said the EC should take measures to prevent corruption and malpractices. “Unlike last time, EC should step in and prevent practices like bribing voters in the initial stage of election,” he said. Following charges of bribing voters, it was an Income Tax raid on April 7, five days before the scheduled bypoll at R K Nagar, that led to the cancellation of polls last time. The I-T sleuths raided houses and offices of senior AIADMK leaders and unearthed cash and documents worth several crores that allegedly linked many senior ministers in shady deals.
