Barring two elder members of his Cabinet, DMK president M. Karunanidhi has re-nominated all ministers in the list of 119 party candidates he announced here on Thursday.
The octogenarian, who has won all the 11 times he contested since 1957, is contesting this time from his hometown Tiruvarur, as reported by DC a couple of months back. Mr Karunanidhi is moving out of the city for the first time since 1967.
“I should have contested from my native Tiruvarur in 1957 itself. Since it was reserved for SCs, I had to move to nearby Kulithalai. The seat was made ‘reserve’ by some politicians deliberately to prevent me from contesting there. Now it is reverted as a general seat which came as a sweet fruit for me,” he told reporters after releasing the list at Anna Arivalayam. His son and deputy CM Stalin is moving to nearby Kolathur in north Chennai, a DMK stronghold, from his well-nurtured Thousand Lights. DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan will also shift base to Villivakkam. As many as 12 ministers, including the CM, are shifting constituencies.
Veteran DMK leaders and ailing ministers Arcot Veerasamy (electricity) and Ko.Si. Mani (cooperation) are among 34 sitting legislators who lost tickets. However, Mr Veerasamy’s personal assistant R. Ilangovan, related to Mr Karunanidhi, is taking the political plunge from Nannilam. DMK senior T.R. Baalu’s son T.R.B. Raja will be contesting from his native Mannargudi.
Karunanidhi, who will be filing his papers on March 24, said of the 119 candidates, 58 are new faces and 11 are women. In selection of candidates, Stalin had a greater say in Chennai city, north and western districts while Alagiri got tickets for his loyalists in the southern districts.