Businessman VS Chandran has withdrawn from the Hulu Selangor by-election, paving the way for a three-corner fight between PKR's Zaid Ibrahim, BN's P Kamalanathan and Independent Johan Mohd Diah.

He officially notified Returning Officer Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan of his decision, at the District Land Office in Kuala Kubu Baru about 1.30pm today.

NONE Speaking to reporters later, he said he had initially decided to contest as a form of protest over the choice of P Kamalanathan as the BN candidate.

However, Chandran said he is a fervent supporter of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and would campaign for Barisan Nasional.

“I will campaign for BN. Kamalanathan is a different matter. Who is Kamalanathan?” asked Chandran dismissively.

Kamalanathan was a last-minute compromise candidate brokered by MIC after the BN leadership rejected the party’s decision to field its deputy president G Palanivel.

This resulted in disgruntlement among the Hulu Selangor MIC grassroots, most of whom are aligned to Palanivel. He had served as their MP from 1990-2008.

'Happy to be suspended'

Chandran denied receiving money or pressure from MIC to pull out of the by-election.

azlan He said he decided to withdraw after a long discussion with some close friends last night.

Now that he has openly supported BN, Chandran claimed the coalition is assured of votes from his supporters, ranging from 8,000-10,000.

Asked if he regrets his decision to stand in the by-election, Chandran defiantly said that he is "happy that MIC suspended (him) and that he had a chance to be nominated".

Chandran, who was Hulu Selangor MIC division deputy chief until his candidacy against BN, will lose his deposit of RM10,000 for withdrawing.

To a question, he said that he will not take the first step to mend ties with the party and will wait for the party leadership to do so.

The road not taken

Meanwhile, Independent candidate Johan Mohd Diah is said to have opted for the road not taken by rival candidates in his campaign to win the hearts and minds of Hulu Selangor voters.

According to his campaign manager, who wanted to be identified only as ‘Nizam’, Johan plans to introduce himself during his walkabouts and by putting flyers in mailboxes.

“No ceramahs ,” Nizam said when contacted.

NONE From tomorrow morning, Nizam said Johan ( left ) - an exco member of the Shah Alam Umno Youth wing - will embark on his walkabout from his home in Sungai Tengi Selatan before proceeding to Felda Sg Tengi, Selisih and other areas in rural Hulu Bernam.

Johan will then make his way to Batang Kali before returning to Kuala Kubu Baru.

“We don’t have an itinerary,” said Nizam, as that would make their efforts look " tak ikhlas " (contrived).

“We will stay at each kampung for a while, then move on as we see fit,” he added.

Nizam also said their campaign will concentrate on the rural Hulu Bernam area, since “it looks like the other campaigns are centring around Kuala Kubu Baru and the surrounding urban areas”.

“Kuala Kubu Baru seems to have the necessary facilities, while the rural areas are lacking. Felda people, especially, feel they have been terpinggir (set aside),” he added.

From their initial target of winning at least 11 percent of the votes, Nizam said, their meeting with locals so far have led them to revise that figure upwards.

“We are now targeting 15 percent of the votes in Hulu Selangor.”

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