CHENNAI: After prolonged negotiations at various levels, DMK and Congress have finalised the list of constituencies the two will be contesting from in the DMK-led INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu. Of the nine constituencies Congress contested in 2019, it will re-contest from six while three have been changed. The party will contest again in Puducherry too.
Instead of Tiruchy, Arani and Theni it contested last time, the party has been allotted Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai and Tirunelveli. In 2019, it had won Tiruchy and Arani while losing Theni. The grand old party will contest again in Tiruvallur (SC), Sivaganga, Krishnagiri, Karur, Virudhunagar, and Kanyakumari.
Tiruchy was allotted to MDMK, where its principal secretary Durai Vaiko will contest. The DMK allotted Cuddalore and Tirunelveli, which it won last time, to Congress. It can be recalled that incumbent DMK MP of Cuddalore TRVS Ramesh was facing a murder case. DMK’s MP from Tirunelveli S Gnanathiraviam also faced several allegations.
According to sources in both DMK and Congress, DMK was considering replacing five constituencies for Congress, including Karur and Virudhunagar, Rahul Gandhi intervened and requested that some of them be not changed.
Congress sources said former TNCC president KS Alagiri, who hails from Cuddalore district, was assured that he could contest from the place. Other names doing rounds in Congress circles include TN Minorities Commission chairperson S Peter Alphonse for Tirunelveli constituency and All India Professionals Congress chairperson Praveen Chakravarty from Mayiladuthurai.
After finalising the constituencies, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai told reporters the constituencies were favourable to them in terms of winnability.
Quick look
MDMK
The decision to field Durai Vaiko in Tiruchy was decided unanimously at a high-level meeting of the party here on Monday after the formal allocation of seat to them in the alliance. Vaiko told reporters the MDMK candidate would contest under the party’s symbol, ‘Top’, or any other available free symbol
DMK
The party’s decision to contest in Coimbatore and Theni Lok Sabha seats has sparked jubilation in the respective party units of the region. Coimbatore hasn’t been won by the DMK since 1996, and the victory in Theni, formerly Periyakulam constituency, dates back to the 1996 general election
CPI
CPI announced its candidates for two constituencies, Tiruppur and Nagapattinam, on Monday. Incumbent MP K Subbarayan has been named for the Tiruppur seat again, while Vai Selvaraj will contest from Nagapattinam
KMDK
Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) on Monday announced S Suriyamurthy as its candidate for the Namakkal constituency, where the party will contest in DMK’s “Rising Sun” symbol