Udhayanidhi, OPS, Senthil Balaji feature in first DMK candidate list for Tamil Nadu election

MK Stalin has been renominated from his Kolathur seat, while his son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi will contest from Chepauk-Triplicane.

Updated on: Mar 28, 2026, 19:29:01 IST

By Majid Alam

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Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK chief MK Stalin on Saturday released the first list of candidates, naming O Panneerselvam from Bodinayakkanur seat and former minister Senthil Balaji from Coimbatore South.

CM Stalin announced the first list of candidates for Tamil Nadu elections.

The DMK chief announced that his party will contest 164 seats in the 234-Tamil Nadu assembly. In the party's list, Stalin has retained most of his ministers, MLAs and senior leaders.

Congress will contest 28 seats in the state, while DMDK has been allotted 10 seats, and both CPI and CPM getting five seats each. Other smaller parties in the alliance include VCK with 8 seats and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with 2 seats.

Chief minister Stalin has been renominated from his Kolathur seat, while his son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi will contest from Chepauk-Triplicane.

State ministers Durai Murugan, K N Nehru Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Thangam Thennarasu, Ma Subramanian, and EV Velu have also been named in the candidates' list.

Expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, who recently joined DMK, has been fielded from Bodinayakkanur. Two of Panneerselvam's colleagues, Paul Manoj Pandian and R Vaithilingam, who also switched to DMK, have also been given tickets.

Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, while the counting will be conducted on May 4.

The main electoral contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes the Congress, DMDK, and Left parties, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK with the BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies.

Meanwhile, actor-turned-politician Vijay-led TVK is also fighting its maiden contest in the state elections.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Majid Alam
Majid Alam is a Chief Content Producer working at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi. He currently heads shifts at online desk and manages homepage apart from writing, editing and curating articles. With over six years of experience in journalism, Majid has navigated national, politics and international news. His work primarily focuses on the politics of the Hindi heartland, government policies, and South Asia. He also writes on US and Europe’s policies vis-à-vis India. Before joining Hindustan Times, Majid worked at ABP LIVE as the Chief Copy Editor and at News18, where he managed the World and Explainers sections. His articles have featured in Dialogue Earth, The Quint, BMJ, The Diplomat, and Outlook India. Majid has a keen interest in the use of data for storytelling. Majid holds a Masters in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia. He was awarded the Erasmus+ scholarship to study International Affairs at Sciences Po, Paris in 2020. He is also part of the OCEANS Network, an alumni network of Erasmus+ exchange scholars. He is currently serving as the National Representative (India) at the OCEANS Network. Apart from journalism, Majid has a flair for academic writing and loves to teach. He has published a book chapter: 'Bombay Cinema and Postmodernism' in the book: 'Handbook of Research on Social and Cultural Dynamics in Indian Cinema.' He was also part of the OCEANS Network delegation to Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam in 2025. He has also given guest lecture in digital journalism at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.Read More

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