suchithkc
Chennai, March 17 : Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK Thursday named its 119 candidates for upcoming assembly elections, with Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his son and Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin opting for new constituencies.
The DMK will field 58 new faces in the April 13 elections.
Karunanidhi will contest from Tiruvarur, near Thanjavur district, while Stalin -- who may well be the new chief minister if the DMK alliance again wins -- is the DMK nominee in Kolathur in north Chennai.
Karunanidhi and Stalin were elected from Chepauk and Thousand Lights constituencies in Chennai in 2006.
Karunanidhi, one of India's most veteran politicians, explained why he had chosen a new battlefield.
He said he had wanted to contest from Tiruvarur when he fought his first elections. But he could not do so because at that time it was reserved for Dalits.
DMK's critics, however, said both Karunanidhi and Stalin had opted for newer -- and safer -- constituencies because of what is believed to be the middle class anger against the DMK over corruption allegations.
Karunanidhi said two veteran DMK leaders and senior ministers, Arcot N. Veerasamy and Ko.Si. Mani, had been rested owing to poor health.
He said the candidates included 11 women, 70 graduates, 27 post graduates, three doctors and 26 lawyers.
The DMK chief will start the party's campaign March 23 at Tiruvarur -- and file his nomination the next day.
He said the DMK was winning a majority in the 234-member house.
According to Karunanidhi, around 15,000 people were interviewed before the party decided to pick the 119 candidates.
The DMK is contesting the election in alliance with the Congress, PMK and smaller parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment