Dharapuram: A candidate who lost the Dharapuram assembly by-election has been arrested over a protest blockade during a roadshow by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, turning a local contest into a fresh political flashpoint in Tamil Nadu.
M Karthika of the Naam Tamilar Katchi and her husband, Murugachandra Kumar, were arrested by Dharapuram police. She was named in an FIR registered on the day of the protest, and was picked up early on Tuesday.
The DMK condemned the arrest, while NTK founder Seeman alleged political vendetta. Karthika had contested the recently concluded by-election in Dharapuram.
The arrest comes amid a broader war of words in the state. A DMK leader's remarks against Chief Minister Vijay have sparked a row, with his party, TVK, slamming "personal attacks." The case was registered against Chennai Corporation ward councillor Sudha Deenadayalan, who made the remarks against Vijay, and DMK functionary Muralidharan, who organised the October 7 event.
In the video, the councillor is heard accusing Vijay of winning power through social media reels, failing to fulfil promises and continuing schemes introduced by the DMK government.
Separately, the opposition has kept up pressure on the government. AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami questioned Vijay's "silence" on an international drug racket uncovered by the DRI in an operation on October 16-17. Another AIADMK leader, Anbumani Ramadoss, opposed a reported plan to build a new Secretariat at Pallavan Illam, urging an integrated administrative city on Chennai's outskirts instead.
The Dharapuram by-election was held recently and its outcome has become a talking point in state politics. The seat Karthika contested has become a flashpoint between the NTK and the ruling alliance. The opposition has kept up its attack on the Vijay government over unfulfilled promises and law and order.