DMK leaves assembly seat wide open for AIADMK, not to contest by-poll

CHENNAI: DMK president M Karunanidhi has said that his party will not contest in the recently announced by-poll in RK Nagar assembly constituency in North Chennai where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa is expected to contest from in order to regain her status as an MLA.

After having to step down from her post as Chief Minister following a trial court conviction in September 2014, Jayalailthaa also had to give up her post as an elected MLA from the Srirangam constituency. However after the Karnataka High Court had acquitted her early this May, Jayalalithaa was elected as the Legislative party leader of the AIADMK and then went on to reclaim her position as the Chief Minister of the state.

In order to retain her post as Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will have to be elected as an MLA within six months and in line with this requirement, an AIADMK MLA from RK Nagar Constituency had recently resigned leaving the constituency open for a by-poll. The election commission of India on Tuesday announced June 27 as the date for the by-poll in the R K Nagar constituency and Jayalalithaa is expected to contest here to be elected as an MLA again.

Rival DMK and other opposition parties like PMK have alleged `partisan’ behaviour on the part of the Election Commission to conduct the by-poll in a hurry thereby giving the edge the AIADMK as opposition parties are given very less time to prepare.

In a statement today, the DMK chief M Karunanidhi pointed out that when Jayalalithaa had resigned from her post as an MLA of Srirangam constituency on September 27, 2014 the Election Commission had only made the announcement for a by-poll in that constituency on 21.01.20045. ``However in the case of RK Nagar, the MLA resigned only on May 17 and the announcement of the by-poll has come within 10 days,’’ Karunanidhi said in his statement.

``When a by-poll is conducted under a government that has very big influence over the justice department and the election commission, it is left to all our imagination as to how it will be conducted,’’ the statement said.

``Having understood to what extent democracy will be upheld in this by-poll,’’ Karunanidhi said the DMK will abstain from contesting the by-poll leaving the field wide open for the AIADMK.