CHENNAI: DMK candidates Tiruchi N Siva and J Constantine Ravindran, AIADMK candidate M Thambidurai, Congress’s M Christopher Tilak alias Christopher Manickam, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, and DMDK’s LK Sudhish are set to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, as the number of nominees matches the number of vacancies.
Though three Independent candidates and P Swaminathan, personal assistant to PMK founder S Ramadoss, have also filed nomination, their papers are likely to be rejected during scrutiny on Friday as they do not have the required number of proposers. After the deadline for withdrawal of nominations at 3 pm on March 9, the returning officer is expected to issue certificates of election to the six candidates.
After filing the nomination, Christopher Manickam thanked DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin for giving him the RS seat and Congress leaders Mallikarjuna Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for nominating him for the Upper House. He said that though he may not be widely known in Tamil Nadu now, his work as a Rajya Sabha MP would help introduce him to the people of the state.
Similarly, Anbumani Ramadoss thanked AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for supporting his candidature. AIADMK leaders, including K P Munusamy and Natham R Viswanathan, were present on the occasion. Soumya Anbumani, wife of Anbumani Ramadoss, also filed her nomination as a standby candidate.
M Thambidurai filed his nomination in the presence of Palaniswami and party leaders including Dindigul C Sreenivasan and SP Velumani. Thanking the AIADMK leadership for the opportunity, Thambidurai recalled that he has been associated with the party since its inception and had earlier served twice as deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha.
He also served as a union minister when former CM J Jayalalithaa was the AIADMK general secretary. DMDK candidate LK Sudhish filed his nomination in the presence of party general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant and DMK deputy general secretary A Raja.
Speaking to reporters later, Premalatha said the party had been waiting since 2009 for one of its members to become an MP and that the opportunity had finally materialised in 2026.
Happy with DMK-Cong seat-sharing deal: CM
Thanjavur: Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Thursday said he is happy with the seat sharing deal with the Congress for the upcoming Assembly elections.
“We concluded the agreement with the alliance partner (Congress) successfully and it was lauded by everyone,” said Stalin while speaking at the wedding of Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi’s niece in Thanjavur.
Referring to the negotiations held with Congress which culminated in the agreement, he said, “We held talks with the alliance partner till night and successfully concluded the agreement.”