Two candidates confirmed for the upcoming Bukit Batok by-election

On Sunday, Chee Soon Juan, chief of the Singapore Democratic Party, announced his candidacy for the Bukit Batok by-election. Although others have expressed possible interest, he’s the only (and most prominent) opposition party member to confirm his place in the fight. 

Today, the People’s Action Party introduced its candidate — lawyer K. Muralidharan Pillai, who’s been a long-time PAP activist. Formerly the Branch Secretary of PAP Bukit Batok, he’s been the chairman of PAP’s Paya Lebar branch since 2012.

If you remember, the 48-year-old was part of the PAP team that went head-to-head with The Workers’ Party for Aljunied GRC in the 2015 General Election, and lost by a narrow margin. 53-year-old Chee ran with his SDP team for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, but lost to the PAP 33.4 percent to 66.6 percent.  

In the same year, the PAP took Bukit Batok with 73.02 percent of the vote, leaving Sadasivam Veriyah of the SDP, who got 26.4 percent, in the dust. 

The Bukit Batok seat, recently vacated by the resignation of former MP David Ong, will be up for grabs soon, with the earliest polling dates in May, according to experts. Looks like it might end up a tussle between the PAP and the SDP.



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