Sore Alagiri Aides Say Ticket Went to Highest Bidder

Former Union minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s son M K Alagiri has alleged that DMK tickets for the Lok Sabha elections have been ‘sold for money’.

Former Union minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s son M K Alagiri has alleged that DMK tickets for the Lok Sabha elections have been ‘sold for money’.

Alagiri loyalists alleged cited the example of the Ramanathapuram constituency, from where Mohamed Jaleel, who runs an educational institution in Madurai, would be contesting the elections. “We have never seen him participating in the party’s protests in Ramanathapuram,” they said.

Similarly, C Devadasa Sundaram, who is into construction business in Chennai and owns malls, has been given the ticket to contest from Tirunelveli constituency.

Among the former AIADMK functionaries who have been chosen as candidates are S Gandhirajan (Dindigul) and Durairaj (Sivaganga). The Theni seat has been given to Pon Muthuramalingam, who was instrumental in creating a division within the DMK when Vaiko left the party and launched the MDMK in the 1990s, said an Alagiri loyalist.

However, some senior DMK functionaries said Stalin had chosen the candidates based on their ability to overcome the challenges not only from the opposition parties but also the Alagiri supporters. “We are in the opposition now and our candidates need to be both politically and economically capable of facing the competition in the electoral fray,” said the functionaries.

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