Chennai/Kannur: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and DMK President M K Stalin Monday filed their nominations for the 6 April state Assembly polls from their respective constituencies — Edappadi and Kolathur. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also filed his nomination for the Kerala Assembly elections, which are also to be held on 6 April, from Dharmadam constituency in Kannur district.
Accompanied by senior party leader and Harbour constituency MLA PK Sekar Babu, Stalin filed his nomination papers at Ayanavaram. The DMK chief has been representing the constituency since 2011 and is seeking another term, even as his party is keen to capture power by defeating the ruling AIADMK which has been in the ruling saddle for the last ten years.
Palaniswami has won from Edappadi four times (1989, 1991, 2011 and 2016) and the region is among the strongholds of the ruling party. He is later slated to address poll rallies in different parts of the district.
Across state borders, Vijayan, who submitted two sets of papers, arrived at the Kannur collectorate at around 11 AM following COVID-19 protocols. The only Politburo member of the CPI(M) to be contesting, this is Vijayan’s sixth election to the state Assembly.
The BJP has fielded C K Padmanabhan, a former state president, the Congress-led UDF had allotted the seat to its ally Forward Bloc.
However, G Devarajan, Forward Bloc chief in Kerala, who was to contest, said the party has decided to hand the seat back to the Congress reportedly following directions from the central leadership.
The UDF has not yet announced a new candidate.
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