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Tamil Nadu: DMK releases first list of 21 names for Lok Sabha polls
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday released its first list of 21 candidates, fielding 11 fresh faces and retaining 10 incumbent MPs, for the coming Lok Sabha elections
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday released its first list of 21 candidates, fielding 11 fresh faces and retaining 10 sitting MPs, for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The list was released days after the ruling party led by chief minister MK Stalin finalised the seat-sharing pact with its partners in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Monday, and set the state for a fierce three-cornered battle in the southern state with Dravidian rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We held a consultation process and interviewed candidates and after careful consideration we have finalised this,” Stalin said.
Prominent among the 11 fresh faces fielded for the polls are Ganapathi P Rajkumar, a former AIADMK mayor, who will contest from the Coimbatore seat. Rajkumar is expected to face a tough battle as the DMK has failed to win the seat since 1996. Coimbatore is an AIADMK citadel and also enjoys considerable support of the BJP.
TM Selvaganapathy, a veteran politician who was formerly with the AIADMK and joined the DMK in 2008, has been fielded from Salem.
Thanga Tamilselvan, who resigned as an AIADMK MLA from Andipatti in 2001 to enable then chief minister J Jayalalithaa to contest a bypoll from there, will contest from Theni.
Rani Srikumar is the lone woman among the fresh faces fielded so far. She will contest from Tenkasi (Scheduled Caste) constituency.
Overall, the party fielded three women in its first list – the others being sitting MPs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi from Thoothukudi and Thamizhachi Thangapandian from South Chennai.
The remaining sitting MPs who will be seeking a re-election are Kalanidhi Veerasamy from North Chennai, Dayanidhi Maran from Central Chennai, parliamentary party leader TR Baalu from Sriperumbudur, S Jagathrakshakan from Arakkonam, Kathir Anand from Vellore, A Raja from Nilgiris, CN Annadurai from Thiruvannamalai and G Selvam from Kancheepuram.
Incumbent Kallakurichi MP Gowtham Sigamani, son of former Tamil Nadu minister K Ponmudy, was among those dropped. He has been replaced by T Malaiyarasan.
Ponmudy’s conviction in an assets case by the Madras high court was suspended by the Supreme Court recently. The state government moved the top court after governor RN Ravi refused to accede to a request to reinstate Ponmudy into the cabinet.
Likewise, Dharmapuri MP S Senthilkumar, who stoked controversy through his remarks on north Indian states last year, was dropped from the list of candidates. A Mani has been contested in his stead.
Arun Nehru, the son of municipal administration minister K N Nehru and a fresher, will contest from Perambalur.
There are 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. As per the seat-sharing arrangement among the INDIA bloc partners, the DMK will fight on 21 seats, two lower than what it contested in 2019.
The DMK’s main ally, the Congress, will fight on nine seats in Tamil Nadu (contested nine seats in 2019 as well) and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a prominent Dalit party in the state, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India will contest two seats each.
The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will contest one seat each. The Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) will contest under the rising sun symbol in Namakkal.
The Congress will fight from Tiruvallur (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Krishnagiri, Karur, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli. It will face off against the BJP in Puducherry.
The VCK will contest the reserved seats of Chidambaram and Villupuram.
The CPI(M) will fight in Madurai and Dindigul, and the CPI will fight in Tiruppur and Nagapattinam (reserved for Scheduled Castes).
The MDMK will contest in Tiruchirapalli and the IUML in Ramanathapuram.
