CHENNAI: TVK candidate P Sathyabama on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for the Dharapuram Assembly bypoll, accompanied by several ministers, MLAs and senior party leaders.

Speaking to reporters after filing her nomination, Sathyabama said she decided to leave the AIADMK after its general secretary, ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami, sought to come to power through an alliance with the DMK.

“I have suffered a lot because of the DMK. As I did not want to continue my political journey in such an alliance, I decided to join the TVK. The ruling government’s series of actions, including closure of tasmac shops, strengthened my faith in the party. I took this decision only to serve the people,” she said.

Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KA Sengottaiyan said the TVK had received support from people beyond Tamil Nadu and claimed that people in north India were also yearning for a Chief Minister like TVK leader C Joseph Vijay.

Referring to the previous Assembly election, Sengottaiyan claimed that around 4.5 lakh people from other countries had come to Tamil Nadu to vote for the party’s whistle symbol, which he said reflected the desire for political change in the state. He also expressed confidence that Sathyabama would win the bypoll by a wide margin and set a new record in the constituency.