‘These are triumphant candidates,’ says CM
The DMK has changed many of its candidates and brought in new blood into electoral politics, though some old guards have been given tickets again.
Chennai: Calling the DMK 164 nominees of the DMK for the coming Assembly elections in the State, whose names he announced on Saturday, as ‘triumphant candidates,’ Chief Minister M K Stalin said that for over 60 of the aspirants in the list it was their maiden attempt to enter the House.
Debunking the criticism of a delay in the release of the candidate list, he said ‘even if we have been late, we have come with the latest’ referring to inclusion of over 60 new faces in the list, which otherwise comprised for 125 graduates, 18 women, seven doctorate degree holders, 15 doctors, 17 engineering graduates and 29 law graduates.
Apart from the 164 DMK nominees, 11 candidates from the friendly parties in the coalition were also contesting under the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol, taking the total official candidates of the DMK to 75. The total number of candidates of alliance parties that would be fighting the polls in their respective party symbols was 59, he said.
Elaborating on the delay in the release of the list, Stalin said that it was prepared after taking into consideration the demands and needs of the alliance parties and holding discussions on them without rushing through it as the Secular Progressive Alliance was not based on a political tie-up but principled coalition. There was no procrastination in the preparation of the list, he clarified.
The DMK has changed many of its candidates and brought in new blood into electoral politics, though some old guards have been given tickets again. Many top honchos have also been re-nominated to contest from the same constituencies from where they had won earlier like Stalin from Kolathur and deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin from Chepauk-Triplicane.
For some candidates like V Senthil Balaji the constituency had been changed -now he would be contesting from Coimbatore – and for new entrants to the alliance constituencies in which they are popular have been allotted. Like former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam getting Bodinayakanur.
