MADURAI: The DMK will release its list of candidates for the Assembly polls in the next couple of days, in which a good number of fresh faces would find place, said highly placed sources in the party. This will be followed by the launch of M K Stalin’s campaign tour, which sources said would begin from Madurai.
Among the young faces that have been finalised is DMK treasurer M K Stalin’s close aide and youth wing deputy secretary Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. Mahesh is a third generation DMK man – his father, Anbil Poyyamozhi, was close to Stalin, while grandfather Anbil Dharmalingam was close to Karunanidhi. Sources said the party is considering two seats for Mahesh, either Thiruverambur constituency in Tiruchy or Thousand Lights in Chennai.
Yet another new face is Thiyagarajan, son of former Assembly Speaker late P T R Palanivel Rajan, from Madurai Central constituency. ‘PTR’, as he was affectionately called, was a noted leader in the party whose tenure as the Speaker is often recalled for impartiality. Party sources pointed out that he had once represented Madurai Central, adding that Stalin will launch the party’s campaign from there.
Desperate to win back power in the State, the DMK calculates that fielding more youngsters would boost its chances. During his Namakku Naame tour, Stalin had announced that more seats would be given to the youth and requested Karunanidhi to accommodate his wishes. Party sources expected that the request would be accepted.
It is easier said than done in a party like DMK, where there are a large number of senior leaders, vying for seats. The plan is, explained sources, to accommodate them in the legislative council, the upper house, that the party has promised to revive if voted back to power. But their willingness to accept this compromise depends on their belief in the party’s chances of returning to power.
Meanwhile, the State unit of the Congress reached out to DMK making another attempt to get Aravakurichi seat for its angry youth wing leader S Jothimani. The move came on the direction of the national leadership, sources said.
However, this was one of the only handful of seats that the DMK had managed to win even in the face of the AIADMK wave in 2011, and thus were not willing to part with. The Congress also sought Kadayanallur seat for TMC rebel leader Peter Alphonse, who is all set to make a return to the parent party. Even this was not acceded to by the DMK, which pointed out that it had already been allocated to alliance partner IUML.
Haggling for Aravakurichi
The State unit of the Congress reached out to DMK in an attempt to get the Aravakurichi seat for its angry youth wing leader S Jothimani. The move came on the direction of the national leadership, said sources
Upper House Plan to Keep Elders Happy
To avoid bad blood in the party ranks, the DMK plans to accommodate senior leaders in the legislative council, the upper house, that the party has promised to revive if voted back to power