Chennai, Sept 18:
Chief Minister Vijay is set to campaign for four days in the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies ahead of the October 6 bypolls. He is expected to spend two days in each constituency.
The bypolls have turned into five-way contests involving the TVK, DMK, AIADMK, Left parties and Naam Tamilar Katchi. Polling is scheduled for October 6, with counting on October 9.
Vijay is expected to campaign in Dharapuram on September 25 and October 2. Arrangements are also being made for public meetings, including one at Thirumalaipalayam on the Dharapuram-Udumalpet road, according to reports.
DMK president M.K. Stalin is also planning to campaign for two days each in Madurantakam and Dharapuram. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, NTK chief coordinator Seeman and Left leaders are also preparing their campaign programmes.
With the campaign by senior leaders set to intensify after September 20, election activity is expected to gather pace in both constituencies.
Meanwhile, the electoral field for the October 6 Assembly bypolls in Madurantakam (SC) and Dharapuram (SC) was narrowed down on Thursday, with 49 of the 99 nominations filed in the two constituencies being rejected during scrutiny. A total of 50 nominations have been accepted for now.
In Madurantakam, 48Ā nominations were filed, of which 20 were rejected and 28 accepted. The accepted nominations include those of TVK’s Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK’s Parandhaman, AIADMK’s Kanitha Sampath, CPM’s Suganthi and NTK’s Janakiraman.
In Dharapuram, 51 nominations were filed, with 29 rejected and 22 accepted. The accepted candidates include TVK’s P Sathyabama, DMK’s S Suganya, AIADMK’s K Bhanumathi, CPI’s P Lakshmanan and NTK’s M Karthika. Thirteen Independents have also been cleared to contest in Dharapuram.
The Madurantakam election officer said flying squads had so far seized cash and other items worth around Rs 8 lakh. Two complaints received through the online grievance mechanism were resolved within 100 minutes. No complaints alleging distribution of cash or gifts to voters have been received so far, officials said.
The Madurantakam bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of AIADMK MLA Maragatham Kumaravel, who later joined TVK and is contesting the bypoll on its ticket. The Dharapuram bypoll followed the resignation of AIADMK MLA P Sathyabama, who subsequently joined TVK and is contesting as the party’s candidate.