Ensure victory of AIADMK, says Edappadi K Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam

Chennai: The AIADMK which has left no stone unturned while campaigning for by-election to the four Assembly constituencies scheduled for May 19, has said a massive mandate for the party would mean the continuation of the 'good' social welfare initiatives of the Amma (former Chief Minister J. Jayalalitaa) government.

"This government which is working on the goals and aspirations of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa whose sole aim was to serve people, would dole out more people-welfare programmes if all its candidates in the four Assembly by-elections are elected," the party's coordinator and joint coordinator O. Panneerselvam and Edappadi K. Palaniswami, respectively, said in a statement here. They appealed to the voters to ensure the AIADMK's victory for the implementation of the welfare schemes with renewed vigour.

The poll battle is prestigious for the ruling AIADMK. Both Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam have been hectically campaigning for the party candidates. The bypolls were necessitated due to the disqualification of the 18 MLAs for shifting loyalties from the AIADMK to T.T.V. Dhinakaran's AMMK.

Though AMMK and Kamal Haasan's MNM parties are in the fray, the battle royale is between the AIADMK and the DMK. While by-poll has been held for 18 Assembly seats along with the 38 Lok Sabha constituencies on April 18, the remaining four constituencies - Ottapidaram, Thiruparankundram, Aravakurichi and Sulur will go to polls on May 19.

This is the first time, the two Dravidian majors are facing the elections in the absence of their party's stalwarts – Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi.