CHENNAI: The BJP released its second and final list of candidates contesting for the Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu on Friday. The second list has 15 candidates.
While the saffron party is contesting in 20 constituencies on its own, four of its allies are contesting in the party’s 'Lotus' symbol.
Significantly, the BJP has fielded actor Raadhika Sarathkumar from Virudhunagar constituency.
She had joined the party soon after her husband R Sarathkumar merged his 17-year-old All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi with the BJP on March 12.
Later, she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting on March 15.
She will be contesting against DMDK’s candidate Vijay Prabhakaran, who is the son of party founder and late actor Vijayakanth.
The DMDK will be forming an alliance with Edappadi Palaniswamy led AIADMK in the Lok Sabha elections.
As expected, Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam president B John Pandian will be contesting from Tenkasi and he will take on the candidate to be put up by Puthiya Thamizhagam led by K Krishnasamy as part of the AIADMK alliance and the DMK candidate Dr. Rani Srikumar.
Raama Sreenivasan, BJP state general secretary, who was earlier expected to be fielded in Trichy, has been allotted Madurai. There was huge opposition from BJP functionaries in Trichy for fielding Srinivasan from Trichy and they wanted the party to field someone from Trichy district. Trichy has now been given to AMMK led by TTV Dhinakaran.
Karuppu M Muruganandam, another state general secretary of the BJP, has been fielded from Thanjavur where he will take on DMK candidate S Murasoli and the candidate to be put up by the DMDK.
P Karthiyayini, BJP state general secretary and former Mayor of Vellore Corporation, will contest from Chidambaram Reserved Constituency. She is pitted against VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan.
KP Ramalingam, state vice president, will contest from Namakkal. The other candidates and their constituencies allotted to them are Pon V Balaganapathy (Tiruvallur (reserved)); RC Paul Kanagaraj (Chennai North); A Ashvathaman (Tiruvannamalai); AP Muruganandam (Tiruppur); K Vasantharajan (Pollachi); VV Senthinathan (Karur); and SGM Ramesh (Nagapattinam (Reserved)). Indhiya Makkal Kalvi Munnetra Kazhagam leader Devanathan Yadav will contest from the Sivaganga constituency.
It has fielded A Namassivayam, a minister in the Puducherry government, from the union territory.
The party had named its candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats on Thursday.
Among the allies, the party has allotted 10 seats to Dr Ramadoss-headed Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) while a few seats have been given to some smaller partners.
The BJP had on Thursday fielded its Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai from Coimbatore and Union Minister L Murugan from Nilgiris.
It nominated former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Chennai South seat and ex-union minister Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanniyakumari, which he represented in 2014.
(With inputs from PTI)
