DMK asks EC to hold bypolls in 3 more TN Assembly seats

At a meeting of its district secretaries, MPs, and MLAs here, the main opposition party adopted a resolution which said not holding bypolls to the three Assembly constituencies was "anti-democratic."

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo's had on Sunday said bypolls were not scheduled for Tiruparankundram, Ottapidaram and Aravakurichi constituencies, which are also vacant, since election petitions were pending in the Madras High Court.

To this, the DMK meet said, "it is noteworthy that the Election Commission was not restrained from holding bypolls to the three constituencies by the court."

The resolution, hence, demanded that the EC hold bypolls to these three constituencies.

DMK president M K Stalin said his party's Rajya Sabha MPs Tiruchy Siva and TKS Elangovan would submit a memorandum to the Election Commission seeking holding bypolls to these constituencies.

If the party's request was not heeded, "we have decided to approach the High Court and if necessary the Supreme Court,"

so that bypolls could be held in these three seats, he said.

On bypolls, he said only DMK candidates would be fielded in all the 18 constituencies.

To a question, he said his party's election manifesto would be released in two to three days.

While Ottapidaram and Aravakurichi were represented by disqualified AIADMK MLAs Sundararaj and Senthil Balaji (he is now with the DMK), Tiruparankudram legislator A K Bose died last year.

Petitions challenging their elections are pending in the Madras High Court.

Meanwhile, DMK's losing candidate S Saravanan, who has challenged the victory of Bose in the bypoll held on November 19, 2016, Monday filed a petition in the High Court, saying he wanted to withdraw his election plea over which the court had already reserved its orders.