The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) will contest the Sankarankoil by-election, according to Vaiko, general secretary of the party.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, he said the decision was taken at a meeting of the party's district secretaries here.
The death of the State Minister and sitting MLA, C. Karuppasamy, last week necessitated the by-election.
The MDMK, which had won in some corporations and garnered many posts in municipalities, panchayat unions, town panchayats and village panchayats in the recent elections to local bodies, had decided to contest the Sankarankoil by-election, Mr. Vaiko said. When reporters asked about any possible alliance the party had in mind, he simply stated, “The MDMK will contest, whenever a by-poll is held.”
He said that the party cadre were in a jubilant mood over the victory registered in the local body elections. Hence, it had been decided to celebrate the event at Tiruchi on November 19, followed by a public meeting at Kulithalai in Karur district. The MDMK had won the Kulithalai municipal chairman post.
Criticising the government's decision to shift the Anna Centenary Library from its present location at Kotturpuram in Chennai to a place near Nungambakkam, Mr. Vaiko said that just because the previous regime (DMK) had constructed the library, it was not proper to shift it. In the name of Anna, the then government had spent several crores of rupees to raise the huge premises.
Many people had lauded the initiative and every day a couple of thousands of people visited the library. Even the US Foreign Secretary Hilary Clinton had appreciated the library. He hoped the government would withdraw its decision.
