Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Concluding seat allocation among alliance partners, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will contest in 21 seats, including all three constituencies in the state capital and prestigious seats like Coimbatore, and Thoothukudi, in the April 19 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress, the second biggest party in the Secular Progressive Alliance, has retained Tiruvallur (SC), Krishnagiri, Karur, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari, and Puducherry, while it got Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, and Tirunelveli in place of Arani, Theni, and Tiruchirappalli.
MDMK, which will contest in its own symbol instead of DMK’s Rising Sun, has been allotted Tiruchirappalli and the Vaiko-led party is likely to field his son Durai Vaiko from the seat.
Of the 21 seats that the party has got for itself, the DMK will be contesting in Coimbatore for the first time since 2014 when it was pushed to the third position by AIADMK and BJP candidates respectively, and in Theni, which was allotted to ally Congress in 2004, 2009, and 2019. It was in 1996 that the DMK last won in Coimbatore after which it lost twice in 1998 and 2014 and allotted the seat to alliance partners in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2019.
The DMK, which had in the past one week allotted seats to other alliance partners, is likely to release its candidates’ list on Wednesday.
While Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is to be fielded from Thoothukudi, from where she defeated former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan in 2019, former Union Ministers T R Baalu, A Raja, and Dayanidhi Maran are expected to be the candidates in Sriperumbudur, Nilgiris (SC), and Chennai (Central).
The DMK will contest from Erode, a seat in the western region, Arani in northern Tamil Nadu, and Perambalur this time after having taken them away from alliance partners. The party might go for a mix of young, and experienced candidates, while dropping a few incumbent MPs due to anti-incumbency against them.
Congress is likely to renominate at least five of its incumbent MPs, including Manickam Tagore from Virudhunagar and Vijay Vasanth from Kanyakumari, while ex-Karnataka cadre IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil has expressed interest to enter the fray from Tiruvallur, a constituency located just outside Chennai.
Sivaganga MP Karti P Chidambaram wants re-nomination from the same seat, while All India Professional Congress chief Praveen Chakravarthy has asked for the party ticket from Mayiladuthurai, and S Jothimani is seeking to contest for the second time from Karur.