E-Paper
In first list, AIADMK declares candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats. Check details
The party has allocated five seats to the DMK and one each to Puthiya Tamilagam and SDPI.
Tamil Nadu's AIADMK on Wednesday declared its candidates on 16 seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Releasing its party's first list, AIADMK general secretary and ex-Tamil Nadu chief minister Edapaddi K Plalaniswami announced that the party will contest general elections in alliance with the DMDK, Puthiya Tamilagam, and SDPI.
Click here for live updates
“The DMDK will contest five seats, and one seat each has been allocated to Puthiya Tamilagam and SDPI. Puthiya Tamilagam will fight from the Tenkasi constituency and SDPI from Dindukkal,” said Palaniswami.
Who are the 16 candidates?
| Constituency | Candidate |
| Arakkonam | AL Vijayan |
| Krishnagiri | V Jayaprakash |
| Salem | P Vignesh |
| Madurai | P Sarvanan |
| Erode | Aatral Ashokkumar |
| South Chennai | J Jayavardhan |
| North Chennai | Royapuram Manoharan |
| Kanchipuram | E Rajasekar |
| Arani | GV Gajendran |
| Villupuram | J Bhagyaraj |
| Namakkal | S Tamilmani |
| Chidambaram | M Chandrasekaran |
| Nagapttinam | G Surjit Shankar |
| Theni | VD Narayanasamy |
| Ramanathapuram | B Ilayaperumal |
| Karur | KRL Thangavel |
Not bothered about social media talk'
Speaking on the occasion, Palaniswami, the AIADMK general secretary, dismissed what he said were ‘things’ people say about the party on social media.
“We believe we are strong and people will support us. We are not bothered about what people talk on social media. We are in an alliance with the people,” the former CM remarked.
He also recalled the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when the party swept the southern state, winning 37 out of the total 39 parliamentary segments. Five years later, however, it was AIADMK's arch-rival, the DMK, the state's incumbent ruling party, which bagged 38 seats.
Also Read: MK Stalin's DMK releases list of candidates, manifesto for Lok Sabha polls: ‘Will ban NEET’
Tamil Nadu will vote on April 19. Voting for the national polls will be held in seven phases, the first of which falls on April 19 and the last, on June 1. The counting of votes for all 543 Lok Sabha constituencies will be conducted on June 4.
