AIADMK releases final list of 16 candidates for TN; 1 for Puducherry

AIADMK releases final list of 17 nominees for Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Party chief Palaniswami to start campaign on March 24.

Updated on: Mar 22, 2024, 19:51:51 IST

By Divya Chandrababu, Chennai

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The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( AIADMK) on Thursday released its second and final list of 17 nominees —16 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone constituency in Puducherry — for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The AIADMK, which will contest in 32 of the 39 segments in the state, has now completed the exercise of naming nominees for the single-phase April 19 elections, and party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is all set to launch his election campaign from Tiruchirappalli on March 24.

The party had announced its first list of 16 candidates on Wednesday, soon after its finalised its seat-sharing arrangement with allies Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT). According to the electoral pact, DMDK will contest from five seats while PT and SDPI have been allocated one seat each.

In its second list, the party has fielded Simla Muthuchozhan, who had unsuccessfully contested in 2016 against late AIADMK matriarch J Jayalalithaa from the RK Nagar Assembly constituency, from Tirunelveli.

Daughter-in-law of former DMK leader SP Sarguna Pandian, Muthuchozhan is the only woman candidate announced by the AIADMK for the Lok Sabha polls.

The list also named doctors G Premkumar from Sriperumbudur and S Pasupathi for the Vellore seat.

The ruling DMK has named veteran leader T R Baalu and Kathir Anand, son of top leader and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan for Sriperumbudur and Vellore constituencies respectively.

The AIADMK top leader named G Tamizhvendan and U Rani for Puducherry Lok Sabha seat and Vilavancode assembly constituency, respectively.

Bypoll to the Vilavancode segment in Kanniyakumari district will be held on April 19 alongside the Lok Sabha polls. The vacancy was caused due to the resignation of Vijayadharani, who joined the BJP after quitting her MLA post.

Besides Sriperumbudur and Vellore, Palaniswami announced candidates for the Lok Sabha segments of Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, Tirupur, Nilgiris (SC), Coimbatore, Pollachi, Tiruchirappalli, Perambalur, Mayiladuthurai, Sivaganga, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Divya Chandrababu
Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.Read More

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