CHENNAI: After drawn-out negotiations with its allies, the ruling DMK finalised the allocation of constituencies to all its allies on Saturday, after which party president and Chief Minister MK Stalin released the list of candidates for all the 164 constituencies the party is directly contesting in the April 23 Assembly elections.
The list of constituencies allotted to the allies reflected a fair mix of what the parties had wanted along with a few new constituencies, while the DMK’s candidates was also a mix of familiar faces, sitting MLAs and over 60 poll debutants.
Most senior and prominent party leaders will contest from the same constituencies — including CM Stalin from Kolathur for a fourth term and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin from Chepauk, who is seeking re-election after his poll debut there in 2021.
Of the 34 incumbent ministers, all but three — R Gandhi, T Mano Thangaraj and N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj — have been given opportunity to contest again. Gandhi, however, got a ticket for his son Vinoth Gandhi to contest from Ranipet constituency from where he got elected in 2021.
Similarly, while veteran DMK leader and former minister K Ponmudy is not contesting from his Thirukovilur constituency this time, it has been allotted to his son Dr Pon. Gautham Sigamani.
While there were speculations that DMK’s senior-most leader, minister and ten-time MLA Duraimurugan may not contest this election due to health reasons, he has been allotted his Katpadi constituency again.
However, interestingly, party’s strongman in the western region and former minister V Senthil Balaji has shifted from Karur constituency to Coimbatore South constituency. The move assumes importance as DMK or its allies could not win any of the ten constituencies in Coimbatore in 2021.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and AIADMK heavyweight O Panneerselvam, who recently joined the DMK, has been fielded from Bodinayakkanur, the seat he represented in the outgoing Assembly.
Two of his colleagues, Paul Manoj Pandian and R Vaithilingam, who had joined the DMK earlier, have also been given tickets.
Meanwhile, Stalin said the party’s list included over 60 new faces, 29 advocates, 17 engineers, 15 doctors and seven PhD holders.
However, of the 164 candidates, only 18 are women, well short of the proposed 106th Amendment to the Constitution, which seeks to reserve 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.
Besides 164 candidates of DMK, its allies will be contesting in 11 more seats in the party’s Rising Sun symbol.
On the delay in finalising constituencies, Stalin said there was no delay, noting that the DMK had begun its election work soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Since we have formed a broader alliance, we have to discuss with everyone and allocate seats based on their preferences. Hence, it took a little more time,” he said.
“Late-a vanthalum latest-a vanthirukirom (Though we may have come late, we have arrived as the latest),” Stalin added, using a popular dialogue from a Rajinikanth film.
Notably, the announcement came after the DMK completed seat-sharing with its allies, allocating 70 constituencies to the Congress, Left parties, VCK and DMDK, among others.
Under the arrangement, the Congress has been allotted 28 seats, including Ponneri, Erode East, Vilavancode, Sivakasi and Karaikudi.
The DMDK, led by Premalatha Vijayakanth, has been given 10 seats, including Vriddhachalam and Pallavaram. Thol Thirumavalavan-led Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) will contest eight seats, including Kattumannarkoil, Panrutti and Tindivanam.
The CPI(M) has been allotted seats including Padmanabhapuram and Palani, while the CPI will contest from Thalli and Bhavanisagar (SC), among others. Both Left parties have been given five seats each.
The DMK has also allocated seats to other allies, including the Vaiko-led MDMK, which will contest four seats, three of them on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol, including Madurai South.