Jaya files papers; attacks AINRC govt in Puducherry, promises full statehood if voted to power

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa filed her nomination from the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai for the May 16 Assembly election on Monday.

Jayalalithaa, 68, is a sitting MLA from the constituency. She was accompanied by her confidante Sasikala as she arrived at the Tondiarpet Zonal Office here a little past noon to file her nomination papers with the authorities.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister mounted a scathing attack on the Rangasamy-led AINRC government in Puducherry, alleging its “failure on various fronts” during the past five years.

Addressing a rally in Puducherry, Jayalalithaa said the administration of Rangasamy-led AINRC, which is a splinter group of Congress, had failed in all fields as no industrial development had taken place during the past five years. 

She urged the electorate to ensure that they cast their votes for the AIADMK, which is fielding its candidates in all the 30 Assembly segments, so that Puducherry could witness development in all sectors “on the same lines as Tamil Nadu had achieved” under her rule.

She assured the electorate that if voted to power, the AIADMK would strive to get full statehood status with fiscal benefits to Puducherry and get the waiver of the accumulated Central loans of Rs 6,400 crore. “To achieve this, the Congress-DMK combine and AINRC should be defeated in the polls,” she said.

Meanwhile, DMK chief M Karunanidhi also filed his nomination papers from the Tiruvarur constituency for the May 16 Assembly polls on Monday. The 93-year-old is a five-time Chief Minister. He has won in all Assembly polls he has contested since his debut at Kulithalai in 1957.