DMK's Udhayanidhi to test electoral waters from Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni, M K Stalin to seek re-election from Kolathur

The Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni seat, a DMK stronghold, was represented by late party patriarch M Karunanidhi thrice in the past before he moved to Tiruvarur

DMK President M K Stalin will seek re-election from Kolathur, the constituency he represents since 2011, and his son Udhayanidhi will test the electoral waters from the party stronghold of Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni seat in this metropolis.

Udhayanidhi's grandfather and late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi represented Chepauk, it was renamed as Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni in 2011 after delimitation, thrice from 1996 to 2011 before he moved to Tiruvarur, his native constituency in the fertile Cauvery Delta region.

Announcing the list of 173 candidates of the DMK, Stalin said they are not just “nominees, but victorious candidates” as the people of Tamil Nadu have “resolved” to overthrow the AIADMK government. “The alliance that we have formed was not stitched keeping in mind the elections, it is an alliance based on ideology,” Stalin said, declaring the candidates.

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While DMK will field candidates in 173 seats, the party's Rising Sun will contest in 187 constituencies as 13 nominees from alliance partners will use the election symbol. Udhayanidhi, secretary of the DMK youth wing, has chosen Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni not just because it is a DMK stronghold but also due to its sizeable Muslim population.

The party gave seats to 12 women, nine doctors, 13 engineers and 31 lawyers. Six of the candidates have completed a doctorate.

The list also had several surprises with Dr Ezhilan, who was Karunanidhi's physician and a vehement opponent of NEET, being fielded from Thousand Lights, which was represented by Stalin four times. Ezhilan's father, economist M Naganathan, is the brain behind DMK's colour television promise that sealed the election in the party's favour in 2006.

Vetriazhagan, grandson of late DMK General Secretary of K Anbazhagan, will enter the fray from Villivakkam, while over 70 sitting legislators have been given another chance.

The DMK fielded Thanga Tamilselvan, who was handpicked by the late J Jayalalithaa to represent Andipatti after she moved to Srirangam in 2011, to take on deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam. The contest is expected to be very intense as both Panneerselvam and Tamilselvan have had a past history of carrying animosity against each other.

T Sampath Kumar will take on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in Edappadi, while environmental activist Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, who shot into the limelight during the 2017 Jallikattu protests, will contest against AIADMK strongman and Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani.

The DMK, as expected, fielded its seniors – General Secretary Durai Murugan from Katpadi, principal secretary K N Nehru from Trichy (West), deputy general secretaries K Ponmudy and Subbulkashmi Jagadeesan from Tirukovilur and Modakurichi respectively. In Tiruvarur, which was represented by Karunanidhi twice, the DMK renominated sitting MLA 'Poondi' K Kalaivanan, while it retained many legislators.

It also fielded V V Senthil Balaji, a former AIADMK leader, to take on his bete noire M R Vijayabhaskar in Karur.