Karnataka Polls: AIADMK, KTK to field 35 candidates

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)is likely to field 15 candidates in the forthcoming election to the Legislative Assembly.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)is likely to field 15 candidates in the forthcoming election to the Legislative Assembly.

Karnataka Thamizhar Katchi (KTK) is planning to field 20 candidates.

AIADMK Karnataka State Secretary Va Pugazhendi said the party has prepared the list of candidates and it has been sent to AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for approval. “Since the Assembly session is on in Tamil Nadu, we are expecting the final list by next week,” he told Express.

Pugazhendi said the party will field in Gandhinagar, Chickpet, Chamarajpet, Shivajinagar, Varthur, C V Raman Nagar, Shanthinagar,  Rajajinagar, KGF in Kolar, Alur in Chamarajanagar district and Shimoga constituencies.

“We will request Jayalalithaa and her ministers to campaign for the party candidates,” he said.

In February last year, during the BBMP by-election for Gandhinagar ward, Tamil Nadu education minister C Palaniyappan and revenue minister K P Muniswamy campaigned for their party candidate P Yuvaraj. He, however, lost the elections.

Karnataka Thamizhar Katchi is likely to field its candidates in 20 constituencies in Bangalore.

According to T C Prakash, president of the party, the city has 22 per cent Tamil speaking population. But there is no MLA representing this section.

The party will field candidates in Sarvajnanagar, Chickpet, C V Raman Nagar, Shivajinagar, K R Puram, Pulakeshinagar, Shanthinagar, Chamarajpet, Vijaynagar and Govindarajnagar constituencies.

“Out of 700 slums, there are Tamil speaking people residing in 300 slums in Bangalore. Earlier, there were 500 Tamil schools across the state, which now has reduced to 50. There are many such issues which needs to be addressed,” he said.Retired IAS officer I R Perumal is contesting from Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) from Shivajinagar constituency. 

“Out of 1.67 lakh voters in Shivajinagar, 92,000 are Tamil speaking people. All these years, not even a single Tamil speaking person, representing such a large section of the population, has been elected from here,” he said. 

“It was Yeddyurappa who installed Thiruvalluvar’s statue. I, therefore, joined his party,”he said.

Perumal who is also the president of Karnataka Tamilian Coordination movement, said there are 124 Tamil associations across the state. “In Karnataka, there are more than one crore Tamil speaking people. There are 35 lakh Tamil speaking population in Bangalore which has a population of one crore. KJP is likely to give party tickets to four to five Tamil speaking people,” he said.

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