All parties, except AMMK, welcome rescinding of by-election

Majority of the political parties in the state welcomed postponement while in a series of tweets targeting the EC, AIADMK and DMK RK Nagar MLA Dhinakaran said, “After announcing the bypoll schedule and process set in motion, the EC staged a drama by seeking opinions from political parties just to rescinding the polls. This is a mockery of the democracy and its norms.”

The RK Nagar MLA also accused the DMK of providing tacit support to the AIADMK in this matter. “Both the DMK and the AIADMK are afraid of losing the bypoll. The parties after realising the ground reality have worked in tandem to delay the bypoll, but the public who are hit by Gaja are waiting to vote against, both these parties,” Dhinakaran said.

While the DMK and the AMMK announced its candidate for the bypoll, the ruling AIADMK and the BJP have not named their candidates till Monday. “AIADMK is fully geared up to face the polls. But the public sentiment must be respected. It will not be fair to seek votes when the public is in a state of distress due to loss of belongings,” said former AIADMK MLA Ku Sreenivasan who is also a member of AIADMK election bythe poll panel. Further, the model code will delay the Pongal cash prize for Tiruvarur residents and divert the official machinery from relief works, he said.

Meanwhile, the CPI welcoming the rescinding of bypoll however questioned the credibility of the EC after the recent actions.  The party’s state secretary R Mutharasan speaking to reporters in Kumbakonam said, “When the state government wanted to defer the election to Tiruvarur when the five state elections are held pointing out the north east monsoon how it accepted the by-election now when the state is reeling under the aftermath of Cyclone Gaja and when the relief has not reached the people and the people are yet to recover from the shock.”

Hence the CPI leader D Raja moved the Election Commission for postponement of election and based on that the Commission called for the field level report and deferred the election, he added.

Meanwhile, Mutharasan wondered what transpired between Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and the BJP leaders Tamilisai Soundarrajan and Pon Radhakrishan at a recent meeting.

He wanted the CM to come clean on speculations that the BJP wanted to contest Tiruvarur bypoll.