DMK forms panel to probe bypoll debacle

Chennai: Stung by criticism that the party even failed to retain its core voters in the RK Nagar bypoll in which its nominee forfeited his deposit, DMK Working President MK Stalin on Monday appointed a three-member “inquiry committee” to go into the work and actions of party functionaries in the run-up to the elections. A statement issued by the DMK headquarters said the three-member consisting of R Sakkarapani, R Girirajan and V Kannadasan has been asked to submit its report by December 31. 

“The committee would conduct a detailed inquiry into the work and actions of the DMK functionaries with regard to RK Nagar bypoll. The committee is being constituted on the advice from M K Stalin”, the statement said.The action comes a day after DMK suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of independent candidate TTV Dhinakaran by securing just 24,000 votes — 32,000 votes less than what the party's candidate Shimla Muthuchozhan managed against J Jayalalithaa in 2016 assembly elections. What made things worse for the party was its nominee forfeiting his deposit amount after failing to secure one sixth of the total votes polled in the December 21 elections.

Political observers said the DMK did not even manage to retain its core vote bank in RK Nagar and the results should ring alarm bells in the Opposition party.  Though Stalin termed the RK Nagar results as a “Himalayan defeat” for the Election Commission, he promised to conduct a detailed analysis into what went horribly wrong for the party.