Madurai, Sep 23 (IANS) Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said on Wednesday that he is not in favour of the candidates fielded by the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the upcoming bypolls in Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu.
Both the candidates fielded by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led TVK, K. Maragatham Kumaravel and P. Sathyabama, had won the Assembly polls earlier this year on AIADMK tickets before resigning from the party and joining the TVK.
Speaking to reporters in Madurai, Karti Chidambaram said: "I am very clear that the TVK enjoys great confidence among the people and they will win irrespective of the candidates. But, I believe that the candidates who contested and won the elections held in April-May (on AIADMK tickets) and who resigned in June (from the party) should not have been given tickets."
"The TVK should have asked them (the candidates) to wait and should have given tickets to their own cadre who have been with them, their organisation or their fan club earlier. They should have been given a chance. I am personally not in favour of these two candidates contesting again," he added.
However, the Congress leader said that TVK still enjoys great support among people.
"The election results will be a reflection of the party's popularity and not necessarily a reflection of these candidates, who I think should not have been given tickets," he added.
Meanwhile, TVK faces a crucial electoral test in the Dharapuram Assembly bypoll, where a five-way contest, shifting alliances and Opposition campaigns could challenge its ambitions to strengthen its position in the State Assembly.
The first Assembly bypoll in Tiruppur district assumes significance as Chief Minister Vijay's party lacks an outright majority. Victories in Dharapuram and Madurantakam Assembly seats would strengthen the state government's legislative position.
TVK candidate P. Sathyabama's resignation after winning the seat on an AIADMK ticket, necessitated the election. Her rivals are DMK's Sukanya, AIADMK's K. Bhanumathi, CPI's P. Lakshmanan and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK's) Karthika.
In the recent Assembly election held this year, Dharapuram recorded a turnout of 88.84 per cent. Sathyabama secured 81,100 votes, defeating DMK candidate P. Indrani, who polled 64,373, by a margin of 16,727 votes. TVK's S. Gowri Chitra finished third with 46,438 votes, representing 23.23 per cent of the votes polled. Naam Tamilar Katchi's P. Divya secured 6,026 votes.
--IANS
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