Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar, the Assembly constituency that elected Jayalalithaa twice, is all set to vote once again on December 21. As many as 145 nominations were filed, but the Election Commission has accepted the nominations of 72 candidates. The AIADMK has won seven out of 11 times in the constituency in the last 40 years.
Here is a look at key candidates fighting the bypoll.
E. Madhusudhanan
E. Madhusudhanan
During the rescinded April 12 bypoll, E. Madhusudhanan was the candidate for the O. Panneerselvam faction of AIADMK. A unified AIADMK decided to field the party veteran and north Chennai strongman once again.
A former MLA, Mr. Madhusudhanan is AIADMK’s presidium chairman. He has contested in R.K. Nagar four times and represented the constituency in the Assembly during 1991-96, the first tenure of Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister.
Mr. Madhusudhanan was convicted and later acquitted in a free dhoti-saree scam during his term as Handloom Minister.
Mr. Madhusudhanan is a strong Jayalalithaa loyalist and stayed with her when the AIADMK split into Jaya and Janaki factions in 1989. The 75-year-old leader has been associated with the AIADMK since the party was formed.
He is contesting using the ‘two leaves’ symbol, which was awarded to the unified AIADMK recently.
Educational qualification: SSLC
Total movable assets of self and spouse: ₹51,75,113
Pending criminal cases: nil
T.T.V. Dhinakaran
Garnering support: T.T.V. Dhinakaran meeting people in Salem on Thursday. S. Guru Prasath
T.T.V.Dhinakaran was the candidate of AIADMK’s Sasikala faction during the rescinded bypoll. This time he is contesting as an independent.
Mr. Dhinakaran was brought back to AIADMK and appointed as party’s deputy general secretary by his aunt Sasikala, who was convicted in the disproportionate assets case. Both were eventually ousted from the party after the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam factions merged.
The 54-year-old leader represented the Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 and was a Rajya Sabha member between 2004 and 2010. Jayalalithaa had expelled him and his relatives after the party was defeated in the 2006 Assembly elections.
The Enforcement Directorate has imposed a ₹28 crore fine on Mr. Dinakaran for money laundering. He is also facing two 20-year-old FERA cases for acquiring foreign exchange from unauthorised dealers. A Delhi court is also hearing a case against Mr. Dhinakaran for allegedly attempting to bribe Election Commission officials to get ‘two leaves’ symbol.
Mr. Dhinakaran unsuccessfully lobbied for the hat symbol. The Election Commission is yet to allot him one.
Educational qualification: Civil engineering under-graduate (discontinued)
Total movable assets of self and spouse: ₹7,03,95,323
Pending criminal cases: 2
Marudhu Ganesh
The MDMK has thrown its weight behind Marudu Ganesh, the DMK’s candidate in R.K. Nagar. B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
The DMK has fielded N. Marudhu Ganesh as its candidate. The Congress, Left parties, DMDK, and MDMK have extended their support to Mr. Ganesh.
A journalist-turned-politician, Mr. Ganesh is the party’s area secretary of R.K Nagar (East) unit and belongs to a family of DMK members .
Mr. Ganesh’s mother, Parvathi Narayanasamy, was a councillor between 1996 and 2001 when DMK working president M.K. Stalin was the Mayor of the Chennai Corporation.
Though his family is from Madurai, Mr. Ganesh was born and brought up in Chennai and graduated from the Sir Theagaraya College in New Washermenpet. Later, he studied Law at the Venkateswara Law College in Tirupati.
A resident of Washermanpet, which falls within the R.K. Nagar constituency, Mr. Ganesh had a brief stint as a reporter in a Tamil daily. He faces a criminal case under the Tamil Nadu Open Place (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959, pertaining to pasting posters.
Educational Qualification: B. Com, LLB
Total movable assets of self and spouse: ₹9,66,190
Pending criminal cases: 1
K. Nagarajan
Karu Nagarajan with BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan.
The BJP has fielded Karu Nagarajan, the party’s State unit Secretary, for the bypoll.
Before he joined the BJP in January 2016, Mr. Nagarajan was the State general secretary of actor R. Sarathkumar’s AISMK. R.K. Nagar would be Mr. Nagarajan’s third electoral battle, after 2009 general elections and 2016 Assembly elections.
In the election affidavit, Mr. Nagarajan wrote he is a Consultant, but he is a seasoned politician who appears on behalf of BJP in television debates. The BJP has fielded this south Chennai resident in a north Chennai constituency that has a significant Nadar community inhabitants.
Educational qualification: PUC
Total movable assets of self and spouse: ₹26,60,500
Pending criminal cases: nil
Kalaikottudhayam
Film director-turned-politician Seeman’s Naam Thamizhar Katchi has fielded Kalaikottudhayam as its candidate. Mr. Kalaikottudhayam runs a Tamil news channel called Tamizhan TV alongwith his wife and has produced a few movies.
Educational qualification: B.Sc
Total movable assets of self and spouse: ₹8,68,53,505
Pending criminal cases: 1
