No woman candidate in AIADMK’s first list of 16
Releasing the candidates list ahead of its arch rival DMK to keep the party’s tradition, Palaniswami emphasised that most of the candidates were new faces, but they were “well qualified”.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami releasing party’s candidates list for Lok Sabha polls in Chennai on Wednesday
CHENNAI: The AIADMK on Wednesday announced the first list of candidates for 16 constituencies. Except three of them, the rest are new faces, who are holding district and state level party postings. However, the list is glaring without a single woman candidate.
Releasing the candidates list ahead of its arch rival DMK to keep the party’s tradition, Palaniswami emphasised that most of the candidates were new faces, but they were “well qualified”. They would do justice by flagging the issues of the people effectively, if they are elected in the Lok Sabha polls.
Former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar’s son and ex-MP J Jayavardhan and R Manohar (alias) Royapuram Mano and former DMK MLA Dr Saravanan were familiar among the candidates, while the rest were new to the party functionaries and leaders itself. Among the 16 candidates, eight would have a face-off with the DMK candidates in Chennai North, Chennai South, Kancheepuram, Arakkonam, Salem, Erode, Theni and Arani constituencies.
Jayavardhan has been named for Chennai South for the consecutive third time.
Organising Secretary of the party R Manohar (alias) Royapuram Mano named for Chennai North constituency. He would face DMK sitting MP Dr Kalanidhi Veerasamy.
The party’s Madurai constituency candidate Dr P Saravanan was another familiar candidate in the list.
The AIADMK leadership preferred Saravanan, former DMK MLA who joined BJP and later quit the BJP and joined the AIADMK in the first week of January 2023, to take on sitting MP Su Venkatesan of CPI (M), which is a constituent of the DMK-led INDIA Bloc, in Madurai constituency.
The party leadership decided to field deputy secretary of Puratchi Thalaivi Peravai P Vignesh for Salem Constituency in Palaniswami’s native district. He would be facing DMK leader and former minister TM Selvaganapathy.
AL Vijayan (Arakkonam), E Rajasekar (Kancheepuram -Reserved), V Jayaprakash (Krishnagiri), GV Gajendran (Arani) J Bhagyaraj (Villupuram -Reserved), S Tamizhmani (Namakkal), KRL Thangavel (Karur), VT Narayanasamy (Theni), G Surjeet Sankar (NAgapattinam - Reserved) and P Jaya Perumal (Ramanathapuram) were among the candidates.
Political critic and senior journalist Tharasu Shyam opined that the list clearly indicates that the AIADMK preferred unfamiliar and new faces, with money power, for the Lok Sabha elections.