All 234 seats to see ‘Two leaves’

Jayalalithaa’s announcement has now silenced the critics of AIADMK IT wing’s ongoing fivemonth old campaign ‘Mission 234’ and categorically reiterated the party’s commitment towards this. 

With the candidates list putting an abrupt end to the hopes of Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), led by GK Vasan, the AIADMK will now single-handedly face the DMK-led alliance, DMDK-PWF alliance, the PMK and the BJP. 

While AIADMK won 150 out of the 165 seats it contested in the 2011 assembly election, which also includes smaller parties like AISMK that contested on ‘Two Leaves’ symbol, the AIADMK has upped the ante this time by contesting in all the constituencies. 

The AIADMK supremo has again chosen Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency, which elected her to the Assembly in the 2015 by-election. Likewise, the candidates list has put an end to the speculations that senior leaders like O Panneerselvam, D Jayakumar, K A Sengottaiyan, Nainar Nagendran and KP Munusamy among others might be dropped from the candidates list. 

Former transport minister V Senthil Balaji, who was sacked from the cabinet in July 2015, made a surprise comeback and has got the ticket for Aravakurichi constituency. 

Jayalalithaa has also rewarded some of the MLAs, who crossed to the AIADMK from their parties, such as Ma Foi K Pandiarajan (DMDK), Panruti S Ramachandran (DMDK), Parithi Ilamvazhuthi (DMK) and M Kalaiarasu (PMK) among others. 

However, loyalists such as T Velmurugan of Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi and sitting MLA PV Kathiravan of All India Forward Bloc were off the list. 

Among the prominent candidates in the 16 assembly constituencies under Chennai district are Villivakkam MLA JCD Prabhakar fielded from Kolathur constituency, who is likely to face DMK Treasurer MK Stalin, former speaker and Royapuram MLA D Jayakumar and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar MLA V Neelakantan fielded from their same constituencies, Parithi Ilamvazhuthi from Egmore, state ministers B Valarmathi and S Gokula Indira from Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar respectively, former Finance Minister C Ponnaiyan from Saidapet, former DGP R Nataraj from Mylapore and former Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar MLA P Vetrivel, who resigned his seat to facilitate Jayalalithaa’s re-election to the assembly in 2015. 

Stealing a march over arch rival DMK, the ruling AIADMK today released its list of 227 candidates for the May 16 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is all set to seek re-election from RK Nagar constituency. 

Allotting seven seats to smaller allies, AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa on Monday released the list naming candidates for the rest of 227 seats for which she held interviews for ticket aspirants from across Tamil Nadu in the past two weeks.