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The first by-election after Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) came to power four months ago has turned into an acid test for Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's government, with campaigning for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly seats ending at 6 PM yesterday.
Polling will be held on Tuesday, October 6, from 7 AM to 6 PM, under heavy security. The Election Commission has banned public meetings and campaigning till 6 AM on polling day and ordered all outsiders to vacate both constituencies. This is the first electoral battle since the April 23 Assembly elections that brought TVK to power, and a prestige battle for Vijay, who took the unusual step for a sitting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to aggressively campaign for four days in a bypoll. Vijay campaigned in Madurantakam on September 25 and led a roadshow in Dharapuram on the last day, September 30. The stakes are high. Only by winning Madurantakam (Maragatham Kumaravel) and Dharapuram (P Sathyabama) can Vijay go with confidence into bypolls for five more vacant seats, including Tiruchi (East), which he himself resigned from. The contest has become a five-cornered fight, exposing cracks in the ruling formation itself. Though the CPI and CPM are supporting the TVK government, they are contesting separately against TVK in this bypoll - CPM's Suganthi in Madurantakam and CPI's Lakshmanan in Dharapuram. In Madurantakam, TVK's Maragatham Kumaravel faces DMK's Paranthaman, AIADMK's Kanitha Sampath, CPM's Suganthi and NTK's Janakiraman among 28 candidates in the fray. In Dharapuram, TVK's P Sathyabama is pitted against DMK's Suganya, AIADMK's Banumathi, CPI's Lakshmanan and NTK's Karthika. The campaign saw a full lineup of top leaders camping in both constituencies - DMK president M K Stalin and Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, NTK Chief Coordinator Seeman, CPI State Secretary Veerapandian and CPM State Secretary Shanmugam. Former ministers campaigned for DMK and AIADMK, while TVK ministers were deployed constituency-wise. With 49 candidates in total across the two seats, flying squads and surveillance teams have intensified checks to prevent cash distribution. EVMs are being dispatched to polling stations from this morning, with elaborate arrangements for power, water and security in place for Tuesday's vote. (ANI)
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