Chennai, Sept 9:
The filing of nominations for the October 6 by-elections to the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies began on Wednesday, setting the stage for a closely watched electoral battle in Tamil Nadu.
Candidates can file their nominations till September 16, scrutiny will be held on September 17 and the last date for withdrawal is September 19, while counting will take place on October 9.
The two constituencies fell vacant after their sitting AIADMK MLAs resigned from the Assembly and joined the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). K. Maragatham Kumaravel, who represented Madurantakam, and P. Sathyabama, who represented Dharapuram, submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar on May 25 and subsequently joined TVK.
Both constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. In Dharapuram, the Returning Officer and Dharapuram RDO Felix Raja and other officials have made arrangements for receiving nominations at the RDO office. An election section has been established and CCTV cameras are being installed, while flying squads have been formed to monitor the movement of cash and other election-related violations.
In Madurantakam, the nomination process has also commenced with arrangements made at the designated election office. The constituency has 285 polling stations and 2,13,689 registered voters, including 1,04,886 men, 1,08,738 women and 65 third-gender voters. Flying squads and static surveillance teams have been deployed, while the Model Code of Conduct has come into force and political wall writings, posters and banners in public places are being removed.
The bypolls have assumed political significance as they will test the strength of the TVK government headed by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay as well as the AIADMK’s ability to retain seats held by its former MLAs.
The AIADMK has already begun preparations and is seeking to consolidate support ahead of the contest, while the TVK is expected to field candidates in the two constituencies. The elections are among the first major electoral tests for the parties after the recent Assembly polls.
Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said his party would field candidates and win the by-elections in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, alleging that the vacancies were created after its MLAs were made to resign through horse-trading in an attempt to retain the ruling TVK government.