With precisely a month to go for the by-election for the Srirangam Assembly constituency, vacated by AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa following her conviction in a corruption case, major political parties are busy identifying candidates for the seat.

Early on Tuesday, the DMK announced that the party will field N Anand, who had lost to Jayalalithaa from the constituency in the 2011 Assembly elections.

It has been rumoured that the AIADMK has decided to field a woman candidate, but the name is yet to be announced. “Amma must have already chosen the candidate. As today and tomorrow are not so auspicious, she may announce the name the day after tomorrow,” said a senior member of the party. Going by Jayalalithaa’s choice of young debutants as candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, party functionaries expect the Srirangam candidate to be a first-timer with educational qualifications. After all, the person would be a substitute for Jayalalithaa herself.

The BJP, which has expressed its intentions to contest the poll, is also expected to announce its candidate this week.

Though it is usually the ruling party that wins by-polls, Srirangam could well be an acid test for the AIADMK to assess whether the conviction of the party’s chief has made any dent in its vote bank, say political pandits.

However, a senior politician at an informal get-together with media persons last month said the conviction left hardly any impact on the party’s vote bank.

Another observer said the split in TN Congress and the family feud in the DMK will also work in the AIADMK’s favour.

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