CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday changed the candidates for nine Assembly constituencies – Pallavaram, T Nagar, Mettur, Kattumannar Koil (SC), Poompuhar, Vedaranyam, Mannarkudi, Madurai North and Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu and three constituencies – Thirubhuvanani (SC), Thirunallar and Karaikkal South – in Puducherry. She also relieved Fisheries Minister KA Jeyapal as the Nagapattinam district secretary and appointed OS Manian, former Rajya Sabha MP as the new secretary.
CR Saraswathi, executive committee member and chairperson of Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Board, has been appointed as the candidate for Pallavaram Assembly constituency, replacing CV Elangovan. Elangovan was in the news last year for hoisting the National Flag while attending a call on his mobile phone on Independence Day. After his announcement as candidate, there were widespread reports in social media about this. For T Nagar constituency, B Sathyanarayanan alias T Nagar Sathya is the new candidate. He replaced Saraswathi Rengswamy. In Mettur, former minister S Semmalai is the new candidate and he replaced A Chandrasekaran. For Kattumannar Koil, N Murugumaran was appointed the new candidate, replacing MK Manikandan. S Pounraj, MLA, will be the new candidate for Poompuhar constituency. He replaced A Natarajan. In Vedaranyam constituency, OS Manian is the new candidate and he replaced R Giridharan. In Mannarkudi, S Kamaraj replaced T Sudha. In Nagercoil, Nanjil A Murugesan replaced V Dorathi Samson. In Madurai North, Rajan Chellappa (Mayor of Madurai Corporation) replaced M S Pandiyan.
In Puducherry, M Shankar will be the new candidate for Thirubhuvanani, replacing G Sabapathy. In Thirunallar, G Murugaiyan replaced KAU Asana. Asana will be the new candidate for Karaikkal South constituency. He replaced VK Ganapathy.
Jaya to Begin Campaigning
Jayalalithaa will be launching her election campaign at a public meeting at Island Grounds on April 9. Senior ministers held detailed discussions with district secretaries about the arrangements.
Lost Seat After Furore Over Flag
CV Elangovan, who was earlier the candidate for Pallavaram Assembly constituency, was in the news last year for hoisting the National Flag while attending a call on his phone on Independence Day