R K Nagar byelection: Left parties to field Mahendran against Jayalalithaa

CHENNAI: Left parties in Tamil Nadu will field CPI leader C Mahendran as their joint candidate against chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the R K Nagar assembly constituency where a byelection will be held on June 27.
At a joint press meet convened by the Left parties here on Friday, CPI national secretary and Rajya Sabha member D Raja announced the candidature of Mahendran.
CPI and CPM leaders said Mahendran would file his nomination paper on June 9.
Left parties are the only opposition parties that have announced the names a candidate in the constituency. Majority of the opposition parties have opted to keep away from the bypoll.
Mahendran worked with the All India Students Federation and the All India Youth Federation before being absorbed in the main party.
Mahendran, who hails from Thanjavur district, is the editor of Thamarai, a literary magazine launched by late Communist leader P Jeevanandam.
He contested for the party state secretary post last year and lost.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa filed her papers. The AIADMK chief, who was sworn in as the chief minister on May 23 after having been acquitted by the Karnataka high court in a disproportionate assets case, filed her nomination at the Tondiarpet zonal office.
READ ALSO: Jayalalithaa files papers for R K Nagar byelection