Chennai, Mar 28 (PTI) “These are not mere candidates, they are victorious candidates (vettri vetpalargal),” said DMK President M K Stalin, after announcing the names of the 164 party nominees, including himself, for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls on Saturday.
He emphatically declared that the DMK’s “2.0” government will come to power.
The Tamil Nadu CM retained all but three of his cabinet colleagues, while showing the door to senior party leader and former minister K Ponmudy, who stepped down following a controversy over his comments pertaining to two Hindu sects last year. However, Stalin fielded Ponmudy’s son and Lok Sabha MP, Pon Gautama Sigamani from Tirukkovilur, the seat his father represents in the outgoing Assembly.
The DMK chief also fielded over 60 new faces.
Stalin, who is leading the DMK-led SPA’s charge, is looking to create a new record of leading the party for a successive term, a feat achieved by the AIADMK twice. He is trying his luck from the city’s Kolathur segment for the fourth term, first winning from here in 2011. Stalin has led the Secular Progressive Alliance to impressive wins, starting from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Party veteran and its general secretary Durai Murugan is contesting from his traditional seat Katpadi in Vellore district. The leader, in his 80s, has been part of the late M Karunanidhi-led cabinets in the past. He is presently Water Resources Minister.
Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi, who made his electoral debut in the 2021 elections from Chepauk-Triplicane, has been renominated from the city segment. The deputy CM and DMK Youth Wing chief, who has been actively assisting his father in party affairs as well, is also being seen as a possible future CM candidate of the Dravidian party.
Senior ministers, including K N Nehru, EV Velu, S Reghupathy, I Periyasamy and R Sakkarapani have been retained and would be fighting the upcoming elections from seats they are currently representing, according to the list released by the CM.
Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and IT Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan have also been retained.
Stalin did not renominate Ministers Mano Thangaraj, R Rajendran and R Gandhi.
While fielding over 60 new faces, he also retained some of the MLAs from the outgoing Assembly. This included seniors such as Poondi M Kalaivanan. At least six in Chennai were not retained.
Others who have found place in the list are expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam and his close aides R Vaithilingam and Paul Manoj Pandian.
Panneerselvam had joined the DMK recently, a move that surprised many as he was involved in a battle to “retrieve” the AIADMK from Edappadi K Palaniswami. He will contest from Bodinayakkanur, the seat he represented in the outgoing House before resigning since he joined the DMK.
Another interesting move is shifting former Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji from his stronghold Karur to Coimbatore South. The move is seen as a strategic shift by the DMK to strengthen itself in Coimbatore and surrounding regions that are generally a bastion of the AIADMK.
The candidates include 29 lawyers, 17 engineers and 15 doctors. As many 18 women are in the fray.
Single phase elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23. Of these, DMK is contesting from 164 seats, while 11 of its alliance party candidates are fighting on the party’s Rising Sun symbol, effectively making it 175. PTI SA KH
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