By IANS,
Chennai : Tamil Nadu’s ruling partners — the DMK and Congress — have offered gold as reward for their district secretaries who mobilise the highest number of votes for their nominees in the state’s by-elections to be held Aug 18.
State Congress chief K.V. Thankabalu said the district secretary who performs extremely will get the reward.
Thankabalu will be campaigning for his party candidate M.N. Kandasamy contesting from Thondamuthur constituency.
Earlier DMK’s organising secretary for southern Tamil Nadu districts and union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M.K. Alagiri had announced a prize of a gold chain for the district secretary who gets a DMK candidate the highest votes.
Alagiri had said the chain will be presented from his own funds.
The ruling DMK will contest in Bargur, Illayankudi and Cumbum while its ally, the Congress, will field its candidates for Thondamuthur and Srivaikundam seats.
Sixty-seven candidates are in the fray for five seats — Bargur, Thondamuthur, Cumbum, Illayangudi and Srivaikundam — which will go to polls Aug 18.
The main opposition party AIADMK and its allies — PMK and MDMK — are boycotting the elections. They are alleging that the polls will not be held in a free and fair manner.