Tamil Nadu: AIADMK unveils first list for Lok Sabha polls
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Wednesday announced its first list of candidates for 16 Lok Sabha seats. Edappadi K Palaniswami, the AIADMK general secretary, announced the list of candidates featuring several key constituencies like North and South Chennai, Kancheepuram, Arakkonam, Krishnagiri, Arani, Villupuram, Salem, and Madurai, among others. According to the allocation, five seats are earmarked for Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and one each for Puthiya Tamilagam and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
Why does this story matter?
In September 2023, the AIADMK snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National Democratic Alliance due to disagreements sparked by remarks made by the saffron party's state chief, K Annamalai. The AIADMK accused the BJP leader of intentionally tarnishing the reputation of both current and past party leaders. Notably, Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2021 state assembly elections, the AIADMK emerged as the primary opposition in the state, securing 66 seats.
Candidates from key constituencies
The candidate roster features Royapuram Mano representing Chennai North and J Jayavardhan for Chennai South. E Rajasekar will contest from Kancheepuram while A L Vijayan is set to represent Arakkonam. V Jayaprakash will run from Krishnagiri. Other notable candidates include G V Gajendran (Arani), J Bhagyaraj (Villupuram), P Vignesh (Salem), S Tamilmani (Namakkal), and Aatral Ashokkumar (Erode). The list also includes KRL Thangavel (Karur), M Chandrakasan (Chidambaram), G Surjit Shankar (Nagapattinam), P Saravanan(Madurai) ,V T Narayanasamy(Theni) and B Ilayaperumal(Ramanathapuram).
AIADMK assigns seats to DMDK, other allies
In addition to unveiling the list, Palaniswami also shared that the party has assigned five seats to the DMDK. One seat each has been set aside for the Puthiya Tamilagam and the SDPI. "Negotiations are underway to finalize the seats for DMDK. The decision will be made public tomorrow," Palaniswami said. After the announcement, K Krishnasamy, the leader of Puthiya Tamilagam, inked a poll agreement with the party to contest from the Tenkasi (reserved) constituency.
Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha election schedule
The Election Commission of India, under Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, has announced that the voting for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will take place in a single phase on April 19. The votes will be counted on June 4. At 39, Tamil Nadu has the fifth most number of Lok Sabha seats in the country, comprising 32 unreserved and seven reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.
