VK Sasikala's nephew Dinakaran is AIADMK candidate for RK Nagar bypoll

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK on Wednesday announced VK Sasikala’s nephew and party deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran as party candidate for the April 12 RK Nagar bypoll.

The decision was taken at the Governing Council meeting of the AIADMK held on Wednesday morning.

Dinakaran's candidature is being seen as an attempt to assert Sasikala's hold in the family as well as boosting the morale of the cadres. An AIADMK press release said Dinakaran's candidature was approved by party general secretary Sasikala who is currently lodged in a Bengaluru prison.

Sasikala, her husband M Natarajan and close relatives Dinakaran and Venkatesh were expelled from the AIADMK in 2011 by Jayalalithaa amidst reports then that they interfered in party and government administration.

Dinakaran, who was expelled from the AIADMK in 2011, was re-inducted into the party last month by Sasikala after he expressed regret for his alleged anti-party activities.

Late Jayalalithaa had represented the R K Nagar constituency from 2015 till her death and reclaiming the seat is imperative for the AIADMK to claim the late leader's legacy.

This will be the first election faced which the AIADMK will face post Jayalalithaa's death and the bitter rift following a revolt by expelled leader and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam.

While AIADMK will seek to continue its electoral dominance, the April 12 by-election is seen as an indicator of the people's mindset in the wake of Jayalalithaa's demise and the rift in the ruling party.

Speaking to reporters here, Dinakaran exuded confidence that he will win by a huge margin of over 50,000 votes from RK Nagar.

"I want to take forward the legacy of Amma (Jayalalithaa) and continue the work done and left behind by her," he said.

Stating that he was contesting the bypoll following a decision taken by the party's Parliamentary Board, he insisted that DMK was AIADMK's main rival and welcomed the support of other parties.

"DMK is our rival and that is the policy of (party founder the late) MG Ramachandran and Amma. I am contesting from RK Nagar to prevent a DMK win and therefore will accept the support of others, whether it be MDMK, DMDK, BJP or even Congress," he said.

To a query whether he would become the Chief Minister if elected, he said, "Edappadi K Palaniswami is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu," and enjoys public goodwill and support on account of his performance.

He described as "imagination" speculation that he will take over from Palaniswami in the case of being elected to the state Assembly.

Dinakaran also refused to respond to a question on DMK approaching the Election Commission with a plea to transfer City Police Commissioner S George alleging he was acting in favour of the ruling AIADMK.

Replying to a query on expelled leader Panneerselvam, Dinakaran said he was carrying on a campaign against the party with a view to "mislead" people and termed him as a "great actor."

Those AIADMK MLAs and MPs siding with him were doing so in anticipation of ministerial berths if possible, he alleged.

Immediately after the AIADMK announced its nominee, the DMK named new face Marudhu Ganesh as its candidate for the constituency.

Party General Secretary K Anbazhagan made the announcement through a party release here.

Meanwhile, the Panneerselvam camp said they will soon announce their candidate for RK Nagar bypoll.