DMK announces 164 candidates; Stalin to contest from Kolathur, Udhayanidhi from Chepauk

Seeking re-election from Kolathur in Chennai, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Saturday released the list of candidates for the 164 constituencies in which the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is contesting the Assembly elections.

The Chief Minister’s son and Deputy CM, Udhayanidhi Stalin, will contest again from the Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni constituency in the city. Both Kolathur, in north Chennai, and Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni are among the smallest constituencies in the state and have traditionally been strongholds of the DMK.

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Stalin released the list of candidates for all 164 seats the party is contesting at a press conference held at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. The DMK has allotted 11 seats to its allies to be contested on the party’s Rising Sun symbol, taking the total tally to 175. Of these, one seat has been given to the RSS-aligned Thamizhar Desam Party.

“Our alliance is strong and cohesive,” Stalin said, asserting that the DMK would return to power. Prior to the release of the DMK list, party veteran and former Union Minister T. R. Baalu announced the constituencies allotted to allies, including Congress, VCK, Left parties, DMDK, IUM, and others.

The party has fielded a newcomer, Kasi, to take on Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the NDA’s chief ministerial face, in the Edappadi constituency in Salem district.

Of the 34 ministers in the Stalin cabinet, 28 have been given party tickets. These include DMK general secretary Duraimurugan, P. T. R. Palanivel Thiagarajan, P. K. Sekar Babu, K. N. Nehru, K. K. S. S. R. Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarasu, E. V. Velu, and C. V. Ganesan, among others. Those denied tickets include Mano Thangaraj, a close associate of Kanimozhi, and R. Gandhi.

In a significant move, former minister V. Senthil Balaji, a strongman in the western districts, has been shifted from his home turf Karur and fielded from Coimbatore (South). Known for his organisational skills, his presence is expected to strengthen the party’s bid to win the district, which has nine seats and is currently held by the AIADMK.

The DMK has also accommodated former Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) and some of his supporters who recently joined the party. While OPS will contest from Bodinayakanur in Theni district, 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’s candidate list is still awaited. However, BJP state president K. Annamalai has made it clear that he will contest from Sattur, while Union Minister L. Murugan has already commenced campaigning in Avinashi.