BJP not a party to chorus against cancellation

AIADMK (Amma) candidate TTV Dinakaran who led the charge against the EC and the ruling BJP at the Centre for suspending Wednesday’s poll confidently said that he would have won the polls. Stating that the decision was taken to prevent his victory, Dinakaran said they were ready to face inquiries of all kinds. Opposition parties who were up in arms against him for splurging cash in the constituency were in for a rude shock when he declared that he would contest (and win) when the polls are held again in RK Nagar. 

Leader of Opposition MK Stalin who has been in the forefront of the attack against the Dinakaran-led faction was quick in announcing an agitation along with their ally Congress in demanding action against Chief Minister K Palanisamy and those ministers whose names popped up a day after I-T raids on the premises of state Health Minister Dr C Vijaya Baskar. 

“Abuse of power and distribution of cash and gifts will not end as long as this regime continues,” Stalin posted on his official Twitter handle a few hours after the news about cancellation of the by-poll hit the headlines. DMDK leader Vijayakant, who was the last to hit the campaign trail, and that too a day ahead of the winding up of the campaign, said, “The Commission should not have suspended the election. Will it curb cash distribution when RK Nagar goes to poll a few months later?” 

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, who claimed that the DMK was having an edge in RK Nagar accused the BJP led Centre of using the EC to advance its political interests and hence the suspension of polls. His Marxist counterpart CPM G Ramakrishnan, who claimed that the two AIADMK factions and DMK had distributed cash for votes and together up to Rs 9,000 was paid per vote, suggested that the EC should have disqualified the three parties caught distributing cash and went ahead with the polls with other candidates.