Ramanathapuram
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) State vice-president and party nominee Nainar Nagendran and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate K. Navas Kani, an ally of the DMK, were among 10 candidates filed nominations to contest from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency on Monday.
Volunteers and leaders of the ruling AIADMK turned up in large numbers when Mr Nagendran, the former AIADMK Minister who had quit the party and joined the BJP in August 2017 filed his papers before Returning Officer and Collector K Veera Raghava Rao.
He was accompanied among others by sitting MP A Anwhar Raajhaa, AIADMK district secretary M A Muniasamy, BJP State vice-presidents D Kuppuramu, Suba Nagarajan and district president K Muraleedharan. Minister for Information Technology M Manikandan joined him after he filed his papers.
In a brief chat with reporters, he said drinking water problem was widespread in the district and he would strive to address the problem and fulfil other basic needs. The Modi government had already identified the district as backward district for overall development and he would strive to bring in the Centre’s welfare schemes for the benefit of the people, he said.
He would establish Navodaya School for the benefit of poor students, he said. He also assured to bring in investments to promote sea food and farm related industries, especially industries to produce value added palm products and provide employment to the local youth.
IUML candidate Navas Kani was accompanied by former DMK Minister Suba Thangavelan, District in-charge Kadar Batcha Muthuramalingam, Congress district president M. Deivendran and IUML leader and Kadayanallur MLA K A M Muhammad Abubacker.
Talking to reporters after filing his papers, Mr Kani said he would revive the Cauvery combined water supply scheme and the desalination plant projects launched during DMK regimes to address the drinking water problem in the district and not properly implemented now. He would bring in private investments and provide employment to local educated youth, he said.
In the by-election to Paramakudi Assembly constituency, AIADMK nominee Sadan Prabakaran and DMK candidate Sampath Kumar filed their nominations before the Revenue Divisional Officer, who is the Returning Officer.
