The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, August 22, nominated MM Abdulla as the party’s candidate for the September 13 Rajya Sabha bye-poll from the state. Abdulla is currently the joint secretary of the NRI wing of the party. The announcement was made through a statement by DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday. Abdulla is a young DMK leader from Pudukkottai district. He was made the joint secretary of the party’s NRI wing in January 2021. The bye-poll was necessitated following the death of AIADMK leader and Rajya Sabha member A Mohammedjan in March, 2021 during the Assembly election campaign.
Abdulla is likely to be elected unopposed as the DMK has a majority of its own in the state Assembly. Abdulla will stay in the Rajya Sabha till 2025 if elected. Sources within the party told IANS that Abdulla was a nominee of DMK youth wing leaders. The DMK party at present, holds up six seats in the Rajya Sabha, while the opposition AIADMK also holds six. One seat each is held by the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Maanila Congress and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) of the total 18 seats. After the election for one seat, which will be held in September, two seats will remain vacant.
In the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held on April 6, 2021, the DMK swept the polls bagging 136 seats while the AIADMK won 89 seats out of the total 234 seats in Tamil Nadu. The DMK had contested in 173 seats, while its main alliance partner, the Congress, had contested in 25 seats. The DMK formed the government by ousting the AIADMK after a 10-year rule, with Stalin becoming Chief Minister for the first time.