EPS confident of retaining Tiruparankundram seat

The ruling AIADMK is ready to face the by-poll to Tiruparankundram constituency anytime and would win the election by 50,000 votes, said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami after presiding over a consultative meeting of party cadre here on Thursday.

Palaniswami exuded confidence that his party would win the by-election by a massive margin as the cadre were in high spirits and have taken a vow to defeat the Opposition.

The Tiruparankundram constituency is the AIADMK’s bastion with the party registering victories several times there earlier, he said. Victory is assured for the party in the ensuing by-poll too, the Chief Minister added. Once the Election Commission issues the notification, the party would announce its candidate, he said. Unlike the RK Nagar constituency, electors in Tiruparankundram cannot be deceived, he added. Palaniswami, however, declined to comment on the electoral alliance as the poll schedule is yet to be announced.

As far as the AIADMK is concerned, Madurai was a talismanic district for the party, he said. Not only in the days of former CMs MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, the trend continues even now in Madurai, where whatever work is undertaken ends in victory. The present government is following in their footsteps, he said.

On the All India of Institute of Medical Sciences, the dream project of Jayalalithaa, Palaniswami said it will certainly find its place in Madurai as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and there is no doubt about it. Palaniswami said he would soon meet Modi and stress the need for setting up the much-awaited medical facility in Madurai at the earliest. 

Responding to a query on preparedness for the ‘red alert’ for heavy rain issued for Tamil Nadu on October 7, he said adequate measures have been taken to tackle rain-related incidents after meetings with high-level officials.

Palaniswami indicated that independent MLA S Karunaas, elected on the AIADMK symbol, might face action for seeking the removal of Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal. “You know pretty well what will happen if a no-confidence motion is brought against the Speaker after winning on the (AIADMK’s) Two Leaves symbol... you in media know what the law says,” Palaniswami said when media representatives sought his response to Karunaas’ notice against the Speaker.