Results for the RK Nagar by-election that was held on Thursday will be out by noon. (File)
Chennai: TTV Dhinakaran is leading the race for Chennai's RK Nagar -- represented by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa -- with more than 25,000 votes above his closest competitor, the AIADMK candidate. The opposition DMK is a distant third. The sidelined number 2 of AIADMK, who laid claim to Jayalalithaa's legacy owing to his aunt VK Sasikala's proximity to her, is contesting as an Independent. A victory for the 54-year-old, who tried to get E Palaniswami removed from the Chief Minister's post will be a huge psychological setback for the AIADMK. It will also be a downer for DMK leader MK Stalin, who has been trying to project himself as an effective second to his father M Karunanidhi. "E Palaniswami's government will fall in three months," Mr Dhinakaran said.
Here are the top 10 facts in this big story:
- The AIADMK fielded party veteran E Madhusudanan, who held the seat earlier and has influence among Telugu people who have a sizeable presence in RK Nagar. The DMK fielded Marudhu Ganesh, a little-known lawyer but a local from RK Nagar.
- The RK Nagar by-elections had been postponed in April over allegations that the AIADMK paid Rs 89 crore to voters to buy support for TTV Dhinakaran, who was the party's candidate at the time.
- Mr Dhinakaran was arrested soon after for allegedly bribing Election Commission officials to get allotted the two-leaves symbol of the AIADMK, for which the rival faction led by O Panneerselvam had made a bid.
- Mr Dhinakaran, who is currently out on bail, has denied the bribery allegations. His arrest is seen as an effort by the BJP-led Central government to give a boost to the AIADMK. The BJP, which has a marginal presence in Tamil Nadu, has been trying to expand its footprint in the state and a tie-up with the AIADMK is seen as an option for the party.
- A record 77 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the by-election that was held on Thursday in the shadow of another round of cash-for-votes allegations. The election officials, who had refused to postpone the polls again, said the polling figure was the highest since 2011.
- After Jayalalithaa's death, VK Sasikala -- her long-time companion who is currently in jail in a corruption case -and Mr Dhinakaran had been fighting for control of the party. It split the party but as the opposing factions, led by E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, merged in August, the two got evicted as part of a deal. They have challenged that decision and claim to lead the real AIADMK.
- Mr Dhinakaran has been at loggerheads with Mr Palaniswami since. He had even sided with DMK chief MK Stalin to demand a trust vote against Mr Palaniswami's government after legislators loyal to him wrote to the governor, saying they want EPS to step down. He claimed the Governor's refusal for a trust vote was evidence of the BJP's efforts to interfere in the administration.
- Earlier this month, Mr Dhinakaran had lost the AIADMK's two-leaves election symbol after the Election Commission recognised the merged AIADMK as the "real" party. He contested with a pressure cooker as his election symbol.
- During the campaign in RK Nagar, the AIADMK had accused Team Sasikala of hiding the facts regarding Jayalalithaa's illness and death.
- They 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.
