Kanyakumari Lok Sabha byelection: It’s a face-off between Congress and BJP

CHENNAI: With the DMK giving the Congress the opportunity to contest the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha byelection, after the two parties formalized the seat- sharing deal for the Tamil Nadu assembly election, the stage is now set for a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP in the constituency.
The BJP is part of the AIADMK alliance. The AIADMK has allotted the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat to the BJP. The BJP has named former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the bypoll.
The Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after the Congress MP H Vasanthakumar died last year after testing positive for Covid-19. Vasanthakumar defeated Pon Radhakrishnan in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
While the Congress party is yet to name its candidate for the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha bypoll, it is likely to offer the seat to Vasanthakumar's son and actor Vijay Vasanth.
Interestingly, Congress Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram has submitted an application with the state unit to enable Priyanka Gandhi to contest the Kanyakumari bypoll. If he has his way, then Kanyakumari Lok Sabha bypoll could turn out to be a prestigious contest for the Congress and the BJP.