DMK candidate interview concludes; five constituencies left out

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK on Sunday concluded the interview of potential candidates for the 35 constituencies aspiring for a party ticket to contest in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

According to the sources, Chief Minister and party president MK Stalin directly interviewed the potential candidates including his sister and sitting Thoothukudi MP, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi for the 35 Lok Sabha constituencies at Anna Arivalayam (DMK headquarters) here.

"During the interview, Stalin raised various questions including about their constituency status and chances of winning etc. He also raised a question of what if the LS constituency would be allocated to the alliance parties, " the candidates disclosed to the reporters at Anna Arivalayam.

On Sunday, the interviews were scheduled for only 35 Lok Sabha constituencies and the interviews were not held for Namakkal, Villupuram, Chidambaram, Ramanathapuram and Puducherry as these seats were allocated to the DMK's allies.

If the sources are to be believed, the ruling DMK would release the list of constituencies, allocated to the allies (Congress, CPI, CPM, MDMK) in a couple of days.

"This time the DMK's candidate list would be a mixture of veteran leaders, their successors, youth and new faces. The list would be finalised and released in the next few days, " sources said.

In the DMK-led INDIA bloc, the DMK alone is contesting in 21 LS constituencies.