The CPI on Wednesday released the list of candidates it would be fielding in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The party is contesting nine seats in an alliance with the CPM, and State secretary D Pandian has decided not to enter the fray. The party has nominated incumbent P Lingam again from the Tenkasi (SC) seat, and has also given ticket to two ex-MLAs.
Pandian released the list of candidates at a press conference. The list contained the names of former MLAs
G Palanisamy and A S Kannan as the party’s candidates for the Nagapattinam (SC) and Tiruvallur (SC) constituencies, respectively. Both of them had served one term in the Tamil Nadu Assembly from 2001, when they were elected from the Tiruthuraipoondi (SC) and Ponneri (SC) Assembly constituencies as part of the AIADMK-led alliance.
Also in the fray was party veteran R Viswanathan in the lone constituency in Puducherry. He has served as a minister, and fought on the party ticket in the Reddiarpalayam constituency in the Assembly elections of 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991 and 1990. In all these attempts, he lost only in 2001 to a BJP candidate.
Also nominated by the CPI were Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association former president K Balasubramanian in Cuddalore, K Subbarayan in Tirupur,
A Mohanraj in Thoothukudi, S Krishnan in Sivaganga and lone woman candidate, R T Uma Maheshwari in Ramanathapuram. The CPI is yet to make it clear if it would lend support to any other party in constituencies it is not contesting.