AIADMK, Congress likely to boycott election

PUDUCHERRY: The Opposition parties — Congress and AIADMK — are likely to boycott the election of Speaker to the territorial Assembly scheduled for Wednesday. The DMK could possibly follow suit. AINRC MLA V Sabapathy is all set to become the Speaker, as no another nominations were filed till Tuesday noon.The AIADMK members had earlier demanded that the election of Speaker be deferred till Chief Minister N Rangasamy proves his majority on the floor of the House. A memorandum stating that the party would boycott the election on Wednesday was presented by the MLAs to the Lieutenant Governor on Tuesday. The five AIADMK MLAs urged the L-G to direct Rangasamy to establish the majority of his government. Only after proving his strength, the Speaker election should be conducted, said AIADMK floor leader A Anbazhagan. The Speaker election is no indication of majority of the government, he said.The Congress, which is the largest Opposition party with seven MLAs, are also considering to boycott election of the Speaker, sources said. Meanwhile, the party MLAs would be leaving for New Delhi on Wednesday to meet Sonia Gandhi, reliable sources said. After the Assembly elections, it is the first meeting the MLAs would have with Sonia Gandhi. It assumes significance as Rangasamy had recently called on Sonia Gandhi.The DMK on the other hand is undecided. “We have contacted our party leadership and would take a decision after getting the response,” said MLA and former Leader of Opposition A M H Nazeem. The DMK, which is a Congress ally, is viewing the situation in the light of the meeting between former Chief Minister and MLA V Vaithilingam and AIADMK floor leader A Anbazhagan.