Chennai:
The stage is set for the second by-poll of the year in the state at Pudukottai on Tuesday where former friends AIADMK and DMDK will face-off, with DMK choosing to skip the contest.
Chiefs of AIADMK and DMDK, J Jayalalithaa and Vijayakant have wound up their campaign trail for the election, necessitated due to the death of CPI MLA S P Muthukumaran in a road accident on April 1.
Kathik Thondaiman of AIADMK and DMDK's Jahir Hussain are in the fray among 18 others even as other opposition parties, DMK and MDMK which had fought the earlier Sankarankoil bypoll, have not fielded their candidates.
Outsiders have been asked to leave the constituency and the Election Commission has banned exit polls from 8 am to 5 pm on the polling day.
The state government has declared a holiday for the constituency to facilitate the polling process.