india

Updated: Sep 25, 2019 18:10 IST

AIADMK on Wednesday fielded long time party loyalists with the aim to win back Vikravandi and Nanguneri assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, lost in 2016, from the DMK and the Congress. AIADMK is looking to consolidate its majority and the bypolls would be a touch contest, say observers.

In Vikravandi, the ruling party is fielding Muthamizh Selvan, and in Nanguneri Reddiarpatti V Narayanan. Both are lower rung party functionaries. While Selvan is the AIADMK Panchayat Union Secretary of Kanai in Villupuram district, Narayanan is the joint secretary of Tirunelveli district unit of MGR Mandram, a frontal organization of the party.

Nanguneri held by the Congress fell vacant after the incumbent MLA H Vasanthakumar resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from Kanniyakumari. The bypoll in Vikravandi is necessitated due to the death of DMK legislator K Radhamani.

The DMK had announced Villupuram district treasurer N Pugazhendhi as its nominee for Vikravandi and left Nannguneri to its ally, the Congress.

Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri had said that the party would announce its candidate on Friday. According to party sources, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s father Kumari Ananthan is the front runner. A former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president, four-time MLA and one time MP, he has the backing of Alagiri as well.

The AIADMK had managed to save its government by bagging nine out of the 22 assembly seats where bypolls were held along with the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, the DMK won 13. Currently in the assembly AIADMK has 123 seats, DMK 100, Cong - 7, IUML - 1, Independent - 1 with 2 seats vacant.

In neighbouring Puducherry, where bypoll is slated for the Kamaraj Nagar seat, the Congress party has fielded former legislator John Kumar, who had quit his seat paving the way for Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to get elected to the territorial assembly.