SASIKALA’S NEPHEW TO CONTEST RK NAGAR BYPOLLS

Tamil Nadu is set to witness its next big political fight on April 12 after AIADMK deputy general secretary and Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dinakaran announced on Wednesday that he would contest the by-elections to RK Nagar, the seat left vacant after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Dinakaran claimed he would win by “50,000 votes,” and that the only opponents were the DMK, a veiled snub at Deepa Jayaraman, who had announced lsat month she would contest the by-election to her late aunt’s constituency.

“I want to continue the good work of Amma and it’s because the party people feel I can do it that they have convinced me to contest. I will take steps to ensure that Jayalalithaa’s schemes are implemented in RK Nagar,” Dinakaran told reporters outside the AIADMK headquarters in Royapettah.

Though he has denied that he would replace K Palaniswami as chief minister if he was victorious in RK Nagar, experts believe that there still is a chance Sasikala’s nephew may make a bid for the top post.

Dinakaran, who was expelled from the party in 2011 by Jayalalithaa was a member of the Lok Sabha in 1999 and a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2004-2010.

He was named deputy general secretary of the party by his aunt VK Sasikala, hours before she was jailed in a disproportionate assets case in February.

Dinakaran was found guilty of money laundering and benami transactions in 1996, with the Madras HC enforcing a penalty of ₹25 crore on him in January earlier this year. He also has two additional FERA cases pending.

The DMK, meanwhile, announced that N Maruthu Ganesh was their official candidate for the by-elections. This will be the first election for Ganesh, who is currently east division secretary for RK Nagar.