The AIADMK on Wednesday held a model Rajya Sabha ‘election’ for its MLAs at the party headquarters here on the eve of polling.
According to party sources, the exercise was aimed at avoiding any confusion at the time of voting on Thursday.
AIADMK legislators and the seven dissident MLAs of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) were asked to cast only one vote each. A voter can cast up to seven preferences as there are seven candidates in the fray.
The AIADMK MLAs have been split into five groups and each group will vote for a particular candidate.
The party’s decision puts an end to the possibility of any of them casting a second preference vote. This has brightened the prospects of DMK candidate Kanimozhi, who has the support of 32 MLAs. The DMDK candidate A.R. Elangovan has only 22 votes.
The seven dissident DMDK MLAs attended the model voting, but it was held in a different place. “We will vote for the ruling party candidates just to reinforce their victory,” one of them said.
