Chennai sources stated that the nomination of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party General Secretary, Vaiko, for the July 18 Rajya Sabha elections in Tamilnadu has been found valid on Tuesday. Meanwhile the acceptance of the nomination papers of Vaiko, who is backed by the DMK, comes in the midst of doubts in the wake of Vaiko's conviction in a case of seditious speech by a Chennai court last week. Furthermore he was sentenced to one year's imprisonment in the case.
Reportedly under the Representation of the People Act, a person convicted and sentenced to an imprisonment term of two years and more will be disqualified from contesting elections. Perhaps Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Chief MK Stalin was also present on the occasion. Yesterday, N R Elango, a DMK candidate, filed his nomination as a dummy candidate protectively in case Vaiko's nomination is rejected.
Moreover Stalin nominated M Shanmugham of DMK Labour Progressive Force (LPF) and advocate B Wilson for the other two vacancies the party can win on the basis of its numbers. Hence the DMK had agreed to give one of its three Rajya Sabha seats to Vaiko, chief of MDMK, as part of an agreement in the recently held parliamentary elections. Further elections to the six Tamilnadu Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled on July 18.
