Tamil Nadu by-poll crucial for AIADMK

CHENNAI: The by- poll on Dec. 21 at the RK Nagar assembly constituency, a Chennai suburb, is being watched with keen interest by leaders of all political parties in the country. The poll was necessitated by the Dec. 5, 2016, demise of former Chief Minister ( CM) and AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa who represented this constituency in the Tamil Nadu ( TN) Legislative Assembly.

Why the result of the RK Nagar constituency is important is because of the wafer-thin majority enjoyed by the ruling AIADMK in the Legislature. The TN assembly has a total strength of 234, which means the ruling outfit should have 118 seats in the House. As of Saturday, the effective strength of the House is 232, due to the vacancies caused by the demise of Jayalalithaa and the continued absence of the 95- year- old DMK President M. Karunanidhi. The DMK patriarch is ailing, which prevents him from making it to the House.

The DMK-led Opposition has 98 members. The AIADMK has seen many splits and mergers fo l l owing Jayalalithaa's death. The faction headed by CM Edappadi Palaniswamy has 111 members, while 18 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) owing allegiance to V. K. Sasikala, the jailed aide of former CM Jayalalithaa, have declared their opposition to the continuation of Palaniswamy as CM. If the 18 MLAs join hands with the DMK, the Palaniswamy government would fall.

T. T. V. Dinakaran, a nephew of Sasikala, is leading the faction owing allegiance to her, because of her incarceration as a convict in the Disproportionate Asset case. She will be in jail till 2021 and would not be able to contest elections till 2027, because of Supreme Court restrictions preventing convicted persons from entering Legislative bodies. Dinakaran is contesting the election in the hope of winning and becoming the CM, by ousting Palaniswamy.

RK Nagar constituency is witnessing a triangular contest with the AIADMK, DMK and the Sasikala faction fighting for the seat. The DMK is supported by all other Opposition parties including the Tamil chauvinistic groups. The Congress, the Communists, the VCK, an outfit representing the lower caste population, the Muslim outfits and the Dravida Kazhakam which stands for a separate Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, are all supporting the DMK candidate. The DMK has floated Tamil Eelam Solidarity Organisation (TESO), an umbrella outfit to unify the supporters of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is quite active in TN’s various spheres, under different garbs.

The by-poll is being seen as a prelude to the Rainbow Alliance being planned

Sri Lanka should see for itself the agonies faced by the Indian Government in Kashmir and the North East of India, where secessionist forces are unleashing terrorist attacks on an hourly basis, demanding secession,