<p>Having served as a minister in his first term as an MLA, AIADMK leader Nainar Nagendran sprung a surprise when he joined the BJP in 2017, months after the death of J Jayalalithaa. </p><p>A businessman and an amenable politician, Nagendran was first elected to the Assembly in 2001 and was made a minister by Jayalalithaa. He lost the 2006 Assembly polls, and wasn’t made a minister despite winning the 2011 Assembly elections. </p><p>After having lost in 2016, he felt sidelined in the AIADMK and jumped ship. He successfully contested the 2021 Assembly polls and is now the BJP legislature party leader. </p><p>Nagendran, who belongs to dominant Maravars, is helping the BJP win over several communities in the region. Nagendran has come under attack from the DMK after officials seized Rs 4 crore from three men on their way to Tirunelveli. There are allegations that the arrested persons were supporters of Nagendran and the money was being transported to distribute to voters.</p> .<p>A lawyer by profession, Robert Bruce is a long-term Congressman and is based out of neighbouring Kanyakumari district. As a young politician, Bruce had made several attempts to contest from the erstwhile Nagercoil constituency (now Kanyakumari) but got the seat only now. </p><p>He was also associated with late Congress veteran G K Moopanar. A Christian Nadar, 62-year-old Bruce has served as the AICC observer for the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 election. </p><p>Bruce’s candidature fulfilled a long-time demand of Christian Nadars from the region that their representative should get an MP seat. There was a delay in naming Bruce as the candidate as there was immense lobbying by other aspirants including a former MP and an incumbent MLA.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lok-sabha-elections-2024">Keep up with the Lok Sabha 2024 elections here</a></em></p>
<p>Having served as a minister in his first term as an MLA, AIADMK leader Nainar Nagendran sprung a surprise when he joined the BJP in 2017, months after the death of J Jayalalithaa. </p><p>A businessman and an amenable politician, Nagendran was first elected to the Assembly in 2001 and was made a minister by Jayalalithaa. He lost the 2006 Assembly polls, and wasn’t made a minister despite winning the 2011 Assembly elections. </p><p>After having lost in 2016, he felt sidelined in the AIADMK and jumped ship. He successfully contested the 2021 Assembly polls and is now the BJP legislature party leader. </p><p>Nagendran, who belongs to dominant Maravars, is helping the BJP win over several communities in the region. Nagendran has come under attack from the DMK after officials seized Rs 4 crore from three men on their way to Tirunelveli. There are allegations that the arrested persons were supporters of Nagendran and the money was being transported to distribute to voters.</p> .<p>A lawyer by profession, Robert Bruce is a long-term Congressman and is based out of neighbouring Kanyakumari district. As a young politician, Bruce had made several attempts to contest from the erstwhile Nagercoil constituency (now Kanyakumari) but got the seat only now. </p><p>He was also associated with late Congress veteran G K Moopanar. A Christian Nadar, 62-year-old Bruce has served as the AICC observer for the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 election. </p><p>Bruce’s candidature fulfilled a long-time demand of Christian Nadars from the region that their representative should get an MP seat. There was a delay in naming Bruce as the candidate as there was immense lobbying by other aspirants including a former MP and an incumbent MLA.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lok-sabha-elections-2024">Keep up with the Lok Sabha 2024 elections here</a></em></p>