RK Nagar bypoll: Merged EPS-OPS AIAMDK faction names E Madhusudhanan as candidate for 21 Dec by-election

Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Thursday announced E Madhusudhanan as its candidate for the 21 December Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly bypoll. His name was finalised from a list of aspirants, who had applied expressing willingness to contest the by-poll, a party release in Chennai said. Madhusudhanan, the party’s Presidium Chairman, was the AIADMK’s “unanimous” choice, the release from party coordinator and Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and co-coordinator and Chief Minister K Palaniswamy said. [caption id=“attachment_4188077” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy. PTI[/caption] DMK’s M Maruthu Ganesh and sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran (also spelled as Dinakaran) are also in the fray. The by-poll was earlier scheduled to be held on 12 April. However, the polls were rescinded by the Election Commission following complaints of money distribution. Madhusudhanan was then the candidate of the Panneerselvam-led rival AIADMK faction, while Dhinakaran was contesting on the then AIADMK (Amma) camp. The factions led by Panneerselvam and Palaniswami later merged in August even as the Election Commission awarded the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol to the unified AIADMK. The RK Nagar seat fell vacant last December following the death of local MLA and then-chief minister J Jayalalithaa on 5 December, 2016.