AIADMK chooses ex-AG as candidate for Rajya Sabha bypoll from TN

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Thursday named former state advocate general A Navaneethakrishnan as its candidate for the 3 July by-election to Rajya Sabha to fill the vacancy caused by the disqualification of DMK member T M Selvaganapathy following his conviction in a bribery case. [caption id=“attachment_1568607” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] AIADMK chose former Advocate General as candidate for RS bypolls. Agencies[/caption] Barely hours after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the bypoll, party supremo J Jayalalithaa in a release tonight announced the candidature of Navaneethakrishnan, who had also served as Chairman of Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission. AIADMK at present has ten members in the Rajya Sabha and a strength of 151 in the 234-member state assembly. A release by state Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar earlier in the day said the notification for the bypoll would be issued on 16 June, while the last date for nominations would be 23 June and scrutiny would be on the following day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is 26 June and if there was a need, polling would be held on 3 July and votes counted on the same day, he said. Selvaganapathy, a former AIADMK minister, and four others were sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by Special CBI Judge S Malathi in Chennai on 17 April last in connection with alleged irregularities construction of cremation sheds in Nagapattinam District during the 1991-96 AIADMK regime. He had joined the DMK a few years ago. PTI