Leaders level bribery charges at each other

He added that the constituency’s returning officer and the Chennai Police Commissioner were shifted due to their partiality, based on the complaints of the DMK. “We will continue to press the EC to take action in this regard too,” he said. 

Refuting the charges of Stalin, AIADMK (Amma) candidate TTV Dinakaran said “The DMK fear losing out in the by-election. So, they have started complaining.” Dinakaran also charged OPS group of bribing voters. Later, he got paid back in the same vein by Panneerselvam.

Giving voters slips based on the number of votes in a house with instructions to get what they want at specific shops has been one of the ways in which money has been distributed, said a local resident who do not want to be named. Residents also said that the flying squad and police were informed about this method and they preferred to turn a blind eye. 

Meanwhile, for the DMK and both the AIADMK groups winning RK Nagar has become a matter of pride. More so, Dinakaran stands to lose all, if he fails to win. He knows the feeling of the public towards him and his aunt VK Sasikala, especially the women. A win, for him would prove his faction as the official AIADMK and it would ensure that both the party and the government continue to be in his hands, said political observers. 

If the DMK loses, it stands to lose much face due to the feeling that the party has been unable to muster a win in the absence of a charismatic leader like Jayalalithaa and that too when the opposition party has been divided, added political observers. If OPS group wins the by-election, it would give the faction the moral right to claim the legacy of Jayalalithaa and it would also ensure switching of sides by many from the Sasikala group. The above political factors have contributed to the parties notching up the campaign frenzy as the D-day nears, political observers feel.