In a shocking piece of news, a DMK candidate has on Monday - February 14 passed away ahead of the Tamil Nadu urban local body polls. The untimely demise has warranted the deferment of the polls in his constituency. His demise has saddened the ruling party amid getting ready for the polls that will be held on February 19, 2022. 

According to reports, DMK candidate Kani alias Muthaiah has filed a nomination to contest in the second ward of the Watrap municipality in the Virudhunagar district. He had been campaigning for the past few days and in the morning hours of Monday, he had suffered a cardiac arrest and breathed his last, five days ahead of the polls.

Following his demise, the district administration has announced that the election in that particular ward where Kani was contesting will be deferred. The announcement was made by Virudhunagar District Collector Meghanadha Reddy. Our sources say that Kani is the fifth candidate to die ahead of the polls. Last week, an ADMK candidate in Kanchipuram had committed suicide. 

The dreadful incident in Kanchipuram has sparked a fresh round of a political slugfest as amid mourning the loss, the party has blamed the state ruling DMK for its role in the death and the state election commission has deferred the election in that particular ward where the candidate was being fielded. 36-year-old Janakiraman, who was the candidate of the ADMK from ward 36 of the Kanchipuram corporation, has committed suicide on Thursday - February 10. 

On Wednesday, a day before Janakiraman has ended his life, ADMK leader Edappadi Palaniswami had campaigned in Kanchipuram and he had introduced his party candidates, including Janakiraman. The incident has drawn a huge protest from the ADMK as the cadres of the party had held a dharna in front of the Vishnu Kanchi police station on Thursday demanding justice for Janakiraman.

The ADMK leadership has issued a statement in which it has blamed DMK for Janakiraman's death. In a joint statement, Edappadi Palaniswami and Panneerselvam have said that Janakiraman has taken the extreme step due to life threats from DMK. The leaders have urged the state election commission and the police to take strict action against those responsible for his death.