Tight security cover for Jaya to file nomination in Chennai

CHENNAI: Heavy security arrangements and traffic restrictions will be in place on Friday to facilitate chief minister J Jayalalithaa to file nomination for the June 27 R K Nagar byelection.
The Tondiarpet zonal office, Jayalalithaa will file her papers, appeared like a fortress on Thursday with at least 1,000 policemen deployed for duty. Four additional commissioners, three joint commissioners, 12 deputy commissioners, traffic additional commissioners will also be present during her visit.
Policemen will be deployed along her route through Napier Bridge, Parry's, Royapuram, Kasimedu, Tondiarpet High Road and Cemetery Road. A crowd of 5,000 people is expected around the zonal office alone, said police sources.
Extra strike teams have been deployed to ensure that there is no disruption. Police officers will be deployed three hours ahead of her visit and all streets near the zonal office are barricaded. Senior police officials conducted a meeting on Thursday evening to chalk out further plans.
While majority of the opposition parties have opted to keep away from the bypoll, senior functionaries of AIADMK, including finance minister O Panneerselvam, power minister Natham R Viswanathan and others, held meetings in R K Nagar and discussed strategies for victory.
When addressing the party workers on the preparations to welcome Jayalalithaa for filing nomination, AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan urged the cadres to attend the event with families. He also directed the functionaries to gather large number of partymen.
However, there was a speculation among senior ministers that Jaya may not personally come to file nomination. Chief electoral officer Sandeep Saxena said nominations can be filed either by the candidate or by the proposer.
In a related development, DMK chief M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi on Thursday said her party's decision to boycott the bypoll was to register its opposition to misuse of government machinery by the ruling dispensation. Meanwhile, Gandhian activist Sasi Perumal has announced his support to K R 'Traffic' Ramaswamy's candidature, saying he doesn't want to divide the vote share.