The AIADMK on Friday announced a change in its candidate for the Periyakulam Assembly byelection.
M. Mailvel, deputy secretary of the Theni-Allinagar Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Peravai, would replace M. Murugan, who was named as the party’s candidate earlier this week.
On Wednesday, when a meeting was held in Theni to introduce candidates for the Lok Sabha election and the Assembly bypolls, the absence of Mr. Murugan, a social welfare officer at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, fuelled speculation about an impending change.
Disgruntled cadre
There were also reports of local functionaries in Periyakulam expressing dissatisfaction with the selection process.
Though the press release issued by the party did not state the reason for the change, Chief Minister and party co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami, while campaigning in the Kallakurichi Parliamentary constituency, told reporters that such developments can occur in any political party.
Legal issue
Kovai Sathyan, the ruling party’s spokesperson, explained that it did not want to face any legal issues as the original candidate was said to have not tendered his resignation from service within the stipulated period of time. Mr. Sathyan emphasised that the replacement candidate had “strong local credentials”.
The deputy general secretary of the AMMK, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who was elected from the erstwhile Periyakulam Lok Sabha constituency on an AIADMK ticket in 1999, wondered why the ruling party had chosen a person who was not even willing to enter the electoral fray.
