O Panneerselvam
O Panneerselvam [Representational Image]IANS

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who also leads the rebel faction of the AIADMK, said on Thursday that E Madhusudhanan will contest from Radhakrishnan Nagar in the upcoming by-polls.

Madhusudhanan was the presidium chairman of the AIADMK before General Secretary Sasikala Natarajan removed him from the post as well as from the primary membership of the party.

Madhusudhanan was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly as an AIADMK candidate from RK Nagar constituency in the 1991 elections. He had also served as Minister for Handlooms and Textiles in Jayalalithaa cabinet formed after the 1991 elections.

The AIADMK has fielded Sasikala's nephew TTV Dinakaran as the candidate for the RK Nagar by-polls. Former TN Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who died due to a cardiac arrest in December 2016, had won from the RK Nagar constituency. The seat fell vacant after her demise.

Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar is also contesting from the RK Nagar constituency. Jayakumar had launched MGR Amma Deepa Federation in February claiming Jayalalithaa's legacy. She had announced that she would contest from RK Nagar.