Captain consults party on bypoll

CHENNAI: Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) president Vijayakant on Wednesday elicited the views of his party’s district secretaries on the contentious issue of fielding a candidate for the Pudukottai Assembly constituency bypoll scheduled for June 12. Wednesday’s meeting gains significance in the backdrop of the ruling AIADMK announcing its candidate even as other major political parties in the State — including the DMK, MDMK and CPI — boycotted the election. The meeting was attended by district secretaries from all over Tamil Nadu. Party MLAs who doubled as secretaries in a few districts were not in attendance as they had to report for the ongoing budget session in the legislative assembly.According to party sources, most of the leaders were in favour of contesting in the election. “Though the ultimate decision must be taken by our leader (Vijayakant), many wanted to enter the poll fray,” a party source claimed.Another source close to the actor-turned-politician stressed that the DMDK is yet to take any concrete decision. The party will officially reveal its position in two days, the sources added. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the DMDK has approached its ally, the CPM, seeking its support in the event of the DMDK contesting in the elections. Refusing to comment on whether the Captain’s party had sought any support, CPM State Secretary G Ramakrishnan said that the CPM’s decision on the Pudukottai by-election would be known in a couple of days. “We are consulting with our district unit at Pudukottai on the matter,” he said.