DMK leader and chief minister M.K. Stalin will contest from his bastion Kolathur in North Chennai for the fourth time in a row. Stalin has been representing the constituency since 2011, since its creation following delimitation. The senior most in the candidate list is DMK’s general secretary and water resources minister Durai Murugan who will be contesting from the same Katpadi constituency for the 13th time.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has been renominated from DMK’s fiefdom in Chennai, the Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency.
Four sitting ministers K. Ponmudi, R. Gandhi, Mano Thangaraj and Kayalvizhi Selvaraj have been dropped. However, Ponmudi’s son Gowtham Sigamani has been fielded in Tirukoilur constituency, won by Ponmundi earlier. Vinod Gandhi, the son of Gandhi, is contesting from the Ranipet constituency, won by Gandhi in the 2021 election. In Chennai, sitting MLA from Annanagar, Mohan, has been dropped and his son Karthik Mohan has been nominated from the Villivakkam constituency. He will be facing TVK’s election strategy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna.
Down south in Sankarankovil, sitting MLA E. Raja has been moved to Vasudevanallur constituency. DMK retained Radhapuram, Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai assembly segments and has given away Ambasamudram and Nanguneri constituencies to the Congress. The DMK had faced a crushing defeat in Ambasamudram in the past three elections in a row to the AIADMK. The Congress candidate will face AIADMK heavyweight Esaki Subbaiyah from this constituency. In Radhapuram, current assembly speaker M. Appavu has been renominated for the third time. Sitting MLA, M. Abdul Wahab has been renominated from Palayamkottai. Tirunelveli city district secretary S. Subramanian, an engineering graduate, was nominated to the Tirunelveli constituency. In Alangulam, the DMK leadership has kept its promise by fielding P.H. Manoj Pandian who recently defected from the AIADMK. The DMK had lost this constituency in 2021 to Manoj Pandian. In this region, Kadayanallur has been allotted to the MDMK, which will contest in DMK’s rising sun symbol. And sitting minister T. Mano Thangaraj’s Padmanabapuram constituency has been allotted to the Congress. In Kanyakumari, former Minister N. Suresh Rajan has also been denied ticket and R. Mahesh, mayor of Nagercoil, has been fielded from this segment.
Regional heavyweights like former minister V. Senthil Balaji has shifted constituency from Karur to Coimbatore South. Interestingly, Balaji is the regional in-charge for the Coimbatore district and also the Karur district secretary. This assembly segment, which was represented by BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan, has now been retained by the AIADMK, as she moved to the neighbouring Coimbatore North constituency. Balaji will now face Amman Arjunan from AIADMK in the Coimbatore South constituency.
Former Chief Minister O. Panneeselvam, who recently joined the DMK, has been nominated from the Bodinayakkanur assembly segment, while his associate R. Vaithilinagam has been given the ticket to contest from Orathanadu constituency. But OPS’s supporter Ayyappan, who praised M.K. Stalin on the last day of the assembly session, has not been accommodated in the candidate list and his Usilampatti constituency has been allotted to the Congress party.
In the western belt, Senthil Balaji who is considered a DMK heavyweight seems to have had a say in deciding the constituencies and the candidate list from Coimbatore and Karur districts. Giving away Singanallur and Goundampalayam to the Congress, the DMK has fielded local heavyweights and candidates of Senthil Balaji’s choice from the Coimbatore constituency. Similarly, in the Tiruchirappalli segment DMK strongman and regional satrap K.N. Nehru’s choice of candidates have been nominated from most of the constituencies in the district. Lalgudi MLA Soundarapandian, who was at loggerheads with Nehru, has been dropped. Srirangam sitting MLA M. Palaniyandi who ran into a controversy recently after attacking journalists was also denied a ticket. Thuraiyur, one of the most important assembly segments in Trichy district, has been handed over to alliance partners.
Udhayanidhi’s supporter Chitrarasu has been fielded in the high profile Annanagar constituency while Royapuram has been given to Dr Subair Khan, who is the son of DMK veteran Rehman Khan. Subair is an orthopaedic surgeon.
Overall, there are 60 new faces in the DMK list of 164 candidates. While many Union secretaries and ground workers have been elevated, it has 29 lawyers, 17 engineers, 15 medical and seven Phd doctors. The list also comprises of the sons and family members of DMK veterans like A.K. Tarun, who is from Veerapandi Arumugam’s family. Dr. Kalai Kathiravan, the son of Anbagam Kalai, has been fielded from Tenkasi constituency.