Madurai Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa, who has been nominated as the Madurai north constituency candidate , tendered his resignation and began election campaign along with other AIADMK candidates in the district on Saturday.
Mr. Chellappa submitted his resignation letter to Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Nanduri in the morning before proceeding to inaugurate his campaign office near K. Pudur bus stand.
However, his resignation has not been accepted yet as only the Corporation Council has the power to accept it. Mr. Nanduri told The Hindu that the letter had been forwarded to the council. “Permission is needed from office of the Chief Electoral Officer to convene a meeting of the council now since model code of conduct is in place,” he said.
He added that only after acceptance of resignation, the Deputy Mayor would assume the role of Mayor (in-charge).
Earlier, Minister for Cooperation and Madurai East constituency candidate ‘Sellur’ K. Raju, Mr. Chellapa and other AIADMK functionaries garlanded the MGR statue in K.K. Nagar before commencing the campaign.
After inaugurating the campaign office at K. Pudur, where special pujas were performed, Mr. Chellappa proceeded to Uchi Makali Amman Temple at Andhaneri near Kadachanenthal with party cadres where he offered prayers and started the campaign.
Addressing the voters outside the temple, Mr. Chellappa claimed that Tamil Nadu had been taken to greater heights in the past five years of AIADMK rule. Urging the public to vote for the AIADMK, Mr. Chellappa said, “Do not think I am contesting here. It is ‘Amma’ (Jayalalithaa) contesting in all the constituencies.”
M.S. Pandian, who was initially named as Madurai north constituency candidate, was also present at the meeting. Other AIADMK candidates also began their campaign in their respective constituencies.
