Chennai: PMK, facing the May 16 State Assembly elections alone, on Monday released the first list of candidates for 45 seats including 10 reserved seats. However, the list did not indicate the seat to be contested by its chief ministerial candidate Dr Anbumani Ramadoss.
Prominent candidates among them were PMK deputy general secretaries K. Arumugam from Chengalpattu in Kancheepuram district, A. Tamizharasu from Omalur in Salem party and R. Arul from Salem East seat. The PMK, which relies on the support of numerically strong Vanniars in Northern and Central districts, has named candidates for 45 seats covering 27 districts.
Though the party has fielded its senior office bearers in most of the seats, opportunity is also given to youth and women candidates, Dr Anbumani told Deccan Chronicle.
“We will be contesting in all the 234 seats on our own. We will release candidates for other seats in coming days,” he said, adding that by end of this week, his party would release its election manifesto as well. The party had released a draft election manifesto in September last year.
The manifesto would have new announcements and some changes being made to few others, he said, adding that it would also incorporate demands of farmers, weavers, fishermen and industries as he had signed social contracts with them.
Hitting out at the DMK for copying his party’s election promises in its manifesto, Dr Anbumani said, “They had released our manifesto in Anna Arivalayam. It is nothing but plagiarism.”
He termed the prohibition announcements made by DMK and AIADMK a big moral victory for them. “We have been seeking prohibition for past 34 years. Parties which doubted implementation of prohibition initially started supporting us. Now even Jayalalithaa announced implementation of prohibition in a phased manner. It is a big moral victory for our tireless effort,” he said, adding that all the parties have accepted the prohibition policy.
DMK was forced to not to announce any freebies in its manifesto after his party’s campaign against freebies culture, he said, adding that
DMK has announced creation of separate minister of water management in its manifesto copying PMK’s promise to create new ministries for agriculture, horticulture and water management. “Now parties are forced to go into intricacies of the issues.
