CHENNAI: The opposition DMK’s president M K Stalin announced the party’s candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well as for the bypolls to the 18 vacant Assembly seats in Chennai on Sunday. Significantly, of the 20 candidates contesting the parliamentary polls six are the sons and daughters of DMK leaders, including Kanimozhi, daughter of the late DMK party chief M Karunanidhi, and only two are women.
While Kanimozhi, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP will be facing a direct election — from Thoothukudi — for the first time, former union minister Dayanidhi Maran, son of late union minister Murosoli Maran, will be contesting from Chennai Central again. Former minister Arcot N Veerasamy’s son Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy will contest from Chennai North while former minister Thangapandian’s daughter Tamizhachi Thangapandian will contest from Chennai South.
Party bigwig Duraimurugan’s son Kathir Anand has been given a ticket to contest from Vellore and former minister K Ponmudi’s son D Gowtham Sigamani is to contest from Kallakuruchi. Former Rajapalayam MLA Dhanushkodi’s son Dhanush M Kumar is to contest from Tenkasi.
Aside from the political heirs, quite a few former union ministers have also received tickets, with TR Baalu contesting from Sriperumbudur constituency, A Raja from Nilgiris, S Jagathratchagan contesting from Arakkonam, and SS Palanimanickam from Thanjavur. Baalu and Jagathratchagan won from Sriperumbudur and Arakkonam respectively in 2009.
Raja, who, along with Kanimozhi, was investigated, jailed and then acquitted in the 2G spectrum scam case in 2017, last won from Nilgiris in 2009.
The DMK has also given a ticket to former DMDK MLA SR Parthiban to contest from Salem. Parthiban joined the DMK in 2016.
Other candidates are G Selvam for Kancheepuram (SC), Dr S Senthilkumar for Dharmapuri, CN Annadurai for Tiruvannamalai, K Shanmugasundaram for Pollachi, P Velusamy for Dindigul, TRVS Sriramesh for Cuddalore, S Ramalingam for Mayiladuthurai and S Gnanathiraviam for Tirunelveli parliament constituency.
Speaking to the media after releasing the list Stalin said that the party manifesto would be released on March 19 and he would begin the poll campaign from Tiruvarur on March 20.
Asked why only two women candidates were being fielded, Stalin said, “We are handling this the way Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) handled it.”