The tragic demise of former TN chief minister Jayalalithaa left a huge vacuum in Tamil Nadu politics. While many die-hard supporters of AIADMK hoped that the leaders and cadre unite to carry out the legacy of Jayalalithaa ahead, what came in as a shock is infighting started between Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala and her trusted lieutenant Pannerselvam. 

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Supreme Court ruling sent Sasikala to jail while TN CM Palanisamy and Pannerselvam are fighting for Jayalalithaa's legacy. In the midst of all, by poll in Jayalalithaa's RK Nagar constituency came as a shock to the divided AIADMK. 


AIADMK is virtually divided vertically with former RK Nagar MLA P Vetrivel leading the V K Sasikala faction and AIADMK presidium chairman and former RK Nagar MLA E Madusudanan leading the OPS faction. 


It is not yet clear as to which faction will get the popular Two Leaves symbol of the AIADMK.Former Chief Election Commissioner N.Gopalaswami says "Election Commission's decision on Sasikala is crucial in this by-election. As such two set of nominations will be filed by factions seeking the 'two leaves' symbol. If the EC nullifies Sasikala's nomination, the issue becomes more complex and the returning officer of the constituency will have to decide to whom the two leaves should be allotted. But the story does not end there. Both the factions could move courts," 


Pannerselvam faction says "We will certainly contest, but there is no urgency to announce our candidate now".Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa too announced that she will contest the elections. She already visited the constituency thrice after Jaya's death. 


DMK is keenly watching and is planning to take most of the advantage of the infighting. Since the constituency was formed in 1967, the party has won 5 times from R K Nagar. "We are opposed to the DMK fielding Shimla Muthuchozhan, our candidate in the 2016 assembly election. The party has not won in R K Nagar since 2001," says a senior DMK leader. 


In the meantime, DMK leader Stalin called all parties to unite and defeat AIADMK. He said “RK Nagar by poll (outcome) should protect democracy in Tamil Nadu and teach a lesson to the proxy regime of AIADMK chief V K Sasikala who is in a Bengaluru prison,”


Byelections will be held on April 12 but already fight is intensifying heating the temperatures in the constituency. Political analysts feel "Deepa is likely to make inroads in the R K Nagar by-poll not because she is capable but simply as a result of people's anger against Sasikala. She will definitely not win the seat but will definitely eat into AIADMK's vote share," 



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