Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by Tamil Nadu Chief MInister MK Stalin announced its list of 21 candidates. It fielded 11 fresh faces and retained 10 sitting MPs.
The list was released days after Stalin finalised the seat-sharing pact with its partners in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in the state. The DMK list comprises 11 new candidates, 3 women, 12 individuals with master's degrees, 2 individuals with doctorates, 2 doctors, and 6 advocates.
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Leader of the DMK Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha and party treasurer TR Baalu will contest again from Sriperumbudur, while DMK deputy general secretaries Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and A. Raja will re-enter the fray from Thoothukudi and Nilgiris (SC), respectively.
The party renominated its incumbents from all three Lok Sabha constituencies in Chennai: Kalanidhi Veerasamy (Chennai North); Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central) and Thamizhachi Thangapandian (Chennai South). The other incumbents in the list include S Jagathrakshakan from Arakkonam, DM Kathir Anand from Vellore, K Selvam from Kancheepuram (SC), and C N Annadurai from Tiruvannamalai.
Prominent among the 11 fresh faces are Ganapathi P Rajkumar, a former AIADMK mayor, who will contest from the Coimbatore seat. Rajkumar is expected to face a tough battle as the DMK has failed to win the seat since 1996. Coimbatore is an AIADMK citadel and enjoys considerable support of the BJP.
Here is the complete list.
North Chennai - Kalanidhi Veerasamy
South Chennai - Tamizhachi Thangapandian
Central Chennai - Dayanidhi Maran
Sriperumbudur - TR Baalu
Kanchipuram - Selvam
Arakkonam - Jagathrakshakan
Vellore - Kathir Anand
Dharmapuri - A Mani
Tiruvannamalai - CN Annadurai
Arani - Dharanivendhan
Kalakurichi - Malaiarasan
Erode - KE Prakash
Nilgiris - A Raja
Coimbatore - Ganapathy Rajkumar
Pollachi - K Eshwaraswamy
Thanjavur - S Murasoli
Theni - Thanga Tamilselvan
Thoothukudi - Kanimozhi Karunanidhi
Tenkasi - Rani
Kanchipuram (SC) - K Selvam
Perambalur - Arun Nehru
The state is scheduled to vote on April 19 in a single-phase election. In the 2019 general elections, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led Secular Progressive Alliance, including INC, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, AIFB, won 38 of the 39 seats.
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