By Clara Chooi and Syed Jaymal Zahiid (Malaysian Insider)
KUALA KUBU BHARU, April 19 — Independent candidate V. S. Chandran pulled out of the Hulu Selangor by-election today, saying he loved the Barisan Nasional (BN) too much to contest against it.
His exit has turned the April 25 by-election into a three-cornered race and the former Hulu Selangor MIC division deputy chairman claimed that he would deliver at least 10,000 votes from his supporters to the BN.
“I love the BN. I have no heart to contest against them. I have been a BN man all my life and I have seen them through 10 elections,” the businessman told reporters before filing his withdrawal papers at the Hulu Selangor district office here at 1pm.
Chandran however pointed out that his support was not specifically for the MIC or its candidate P. Kamalanathan but for the BN as a whole.
“I am not patching up with the MIC. It is not about Kamalanathan. Who is he? I support the BN 110 per cent and I feel that they can help the Malay, Chinese, Indian and all the other voters in the constituency,” he said.
Chandran said he had earlier decided to contest on his own due to his personal frustrations with the MIC.
“There are many eligible candidates in the MIC… For example, those in the central working committee, they are in the grassroots. And then there is (MIC Youth deputy chief) V. Mugilan. He is also the Hulu Selangor Youth chief.
“Why didn’t he get it? Why, why, why, what’s the reason why? Who is Kamalanathan?” he continued to say.
Despite his frustration however, Chandran said that he did not want to go against the BN.
“I want the BN to win in this election. I was not angry with the MIC… it is all the truth, what I am saying here, that they could have chosen other candidates ,” he said.
Chandran said he had made the decision late last night, after a long discussion with his friends.
He claimed that he did not withdraw from the race due to pressures from the MIC.
“I decided it after meeting with my friends and supporters. They supported my decision because they know that as a leader, I am making a decision in the best interest of the people,” he said.
He acknowledged that he would have to lose his RM10,000 deposit due to his withdrawal.
On nomination day, after filing his nomination papers, Chandran had gone on a verbal rampage against MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, accusing the latter of playing favouritism with Kamalanathan.
He had also claimed that Samy Vellu had chosen Kamalanathan, the party’s information chief, because he was close to his mother in the past.
The Hulu Selangor by-election will now be between PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, Kamalanathan and former Umno man Johan Mohd Diah.