Jayalalithaa by-election: Over 35 pc voting in RK Nagar seat

Chennai, Jun 27: Voters of RK Nagar Assembly constituency, from where Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is seeking re-election post her acquittal in a wealth case, turned up in good numbers today to cast their votes, with 35.5 per cent voting recorded till noon.

Serpentine queues were seen in a cross section of booths amidst strict vigil by state police and Central Armed Force personnel.

The Election Commission had identified 22 of the 230 voting booths as vulnerable. CPI's C Mahendran and social activist, 'Traffic' Ramaswamy are also in the fray. The by-election was necessitated following AIADMK's P Vetrivel vacating the seat in May, apparently to enable Jayalalithaa seek re-election.

Jayalalithaa has to fulfil the constitutional requirement of getting elected as MLA within six months of becoming Chief Minister. She returned to the top post on May 23 after being acquitted in a wealth case by the Karnataka High Court. She had been convicted in the case in September last by a trial court in Bengaluru.

PTI