DMK releases list for 164 constituencies, CM Stalin seeks re-election from Kolathur, Udhayanidhi from Chepauk

Seeking re-election from Kolathur in Chennai, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday released the list of candidates for the 164 constituencies in which the party is contesting the assembly election.

The Chief Minister’s son and Deputy CM, Udhayanidhi Stalin, is contesting again from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in the city. Both Kolathur, in the northern corner of Chennai, and Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni are among the smallest constituencies in the state and continue to be traditional strongholds of the DMK.

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Stalin released the list of candidates for all 164 seats that the party is contesting on its own before the media at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. The DMK has allotted 11 seats to allies to be contested on its Rising Sun symbol, taking the total tally to 175. Of the 11 seats, one has been allotted to the RSS-aligned Thamizhar Desam Party.

“Our alliance is a strong and cohesive alliance,” Stalin said and asserted that the DMK would return to power. Prior to Stalin releasing the DMK list, DMK veteran and former Union Minister TR Baalu released the list of constituencies allotted to the Congress, VCK, Left Parties, DMDK, IUM and others.

The party has fielded a greenhorn, Kasi, to take on AIADMK general secretary and the NDA’s Chief Ministerial face, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), from the Edappadi seat in Salem district.

Of the 34 ministers in the Stalin cabinet, only 28 have been given party tickets. These include DMK veteran and party general secretary Duraimurugan, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, PK Sekar Babu, KN Nehru, KKSSR Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarasu, EV Velu and CV Ganesan, among others. Those denied tickets include Mano Thangaraj, a camp follower of Kanimozhi, MP, and R Gandhi.

Interestingly, former minister V Senthil Balaji, the party strongman in the western districts, has been shifted from his home turf, Karur, and fielded from Coimbatore (south). Known for his organisational acumen and networking, his presence in the district is expected to provide added strength and heft to the party’s bid to wrest the district, accounting for 9 seats, from the AIADMK.

Not surprisingly, the DMK has accommodated former Deputy CM O Panneerselvam (OPS) and a few of his supporters who recently defected to the DMK. While OPS has been fielded from Bodinayakanur in his home district of Theni, his associate and former AIADMK Minister R Vaithilingam will contest from Orathanadu in Thanjavur district.

While the AIADMK is yet to release its third list, the BJP list of candidates is still awaited. However, the BJP’s state president has made it clear that he will contest from Sattur, while Union Minister L Murugan has already commenced his campaign in Avinashi.