President of the Pondicherry unit of the Republican Party of India (Athwale) S Gnanamoorthy will contest the Lok Sabha polls.
Announcing this at a press conference on Thursday, Gnanamoorthy said a decision to this effect was taken after the approval of his candidature by party President at the All India level, Ramdas Athwale.
The intention of his party was to ensure that "the communal party" BJP and the "casteist outfit" Pattali Makkal Katchi were defeated at the poll, he said.
He said that as the Congress was not in the fray, his party had resolved to contest the election and ensure that the dalits' welfare was protected.
He said that the Executive Committee of his party adopted resolutions at its meeting on Wednesday urging the Centre to declare right to strike as basic right.