Results for the RK Nagar by-election that was held on Thursday will be out by noon. (File)
Chennai: Votes for the by-election in Chennai's RK Nagar, the seat which had been left vacant by the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year, will be counted today. A record 77 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the election that was held on Thursday. Election officials said the figure was the highest since 2011. During the 2016 assembly elections, around 67.6 per cent polling was recorded. Results are expected to be out by noon.
- For the ruling AIADMK, RK Nagar represents the legacy of J Jayalalithaa, its charismatic leader, and retaining it is vital to establish that Chief Minister E Palaniswami and his team are in control.
- The party had fielded AIADMK veteran E Madhusudanan, who has held the seat before and has influence among Telugu people who have a sizeable presence in RK Nagar.
- Mr Madhusudanan is pitted against TTV Dhinakaran, the sidelined number 2 of the party and the nephew of Jayalalithaa's long-time companion VK Sasikala; the pair has staked claimed to Jayalalithaa's legacy and are fighting for control of the ruling party.
- During the campaign in RK Nagar, the AIADMK accused Team Sasikala of hiding the facts of Jayalalithaa's illness and death. The beleaguered countered the charges by releasing a video of Jayalalithaa at the hospital to establish that she was alive and recovering. However, the Election Commission ordered TV channels to take the video off air, calling it a violation of the poll code.
- Mr Dhinakaran was evicted along with Sasikala following a deal between AIADMK's factions led by Mr Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as they merged in August. Mr Dhinakaran and Ms Sasikala have challenged that decision and claim to lead the real AIADMK, though their support in the party is dwindling.
- Earlier this month, Mr Dhinakaran had lost the AIADMK's two-leaves election symbol to the faction led by the chief minister and his deputy Panneerselvam after the Election Commission recognised them as the "real" party. The sidelined AIADMK leader contested with a pressure cooker as his election symbol.
- The by-election was shadowed by allegations of bribing voters with cash and gifts. The Election Commission, however, had refused to postpone the election despite pleas from the opposition DMK.
- The by-election was postponed in April this year over allegations that the faction of jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala paid Rs. 89 crore to voters to buy support for its candidate and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran.
- Making it a triangular contest, the DMK fielded Marudhu Ganesh, a little-known lawyer but an RK Nagar local who is seen by many as a strong candidate.
- While the BJP has fielded a candidate too, the Left parties and the MDMK are supporting the DMK, which wants to win RK Nagar to deliver a big psychological blow to the AIADMK and reinforce its claim that the ruling party has lost popular support after the death of Ms Jayalalithaa only months after she led her party to a big win in the assembly elections last year.
