The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) list of candidates announced on Wednesday has names meeting the expectations and there were new ones too.
The list of nominees clearly indicate that though the party has chosen not to field its old war horses or veterans but also not gone in for very young candidates. Similarly, the choice of nominees also indicates that the party has not ignored the caste card and has chosen those who could get their community votes with ease.
Most of the candidates are in the age group of 35 to 45 and have held posts in the party at different levels. Tami Mani, the candidate for Pollachi, is the son of former MLA Raju; Coimbatore North candidate Meena Logu is Corporation councillor for the second time, Singanallur candidate Karthi was the former deputy Mayor, and Kinathukadavu candidate Kurichi Prabhakaran’s was the president of Kurichi town panchayat after his father.
Ticket for Meena Logu for contesting from Coimbatore North is touted as a reward for her relentless head on battle with the ruling AIADMK at the Coimbatore Corporation council.
Former Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy told The Hindu that he was assigned the responsibility of electioneering hence he had not even applied for a seat. However, two from his family i.e., his son and son-in-law are also not in the battle for ballots. There were expectations that Veeragopal, the party’s urban district secretary would be made to test the waters from any of the constituencies in the urban area.
With the DMK and AIADMK having announced their list of candidates, the Dravidian majors will be locking horns in as many as seven out of the ten constituencies in the district. The DMK’s decision to contest from Valparai, a reserve constituency, has brought cheer among the cadre in the hilly terrain, as the party is contesting from after a gap of 20 years and will be taking on its arch rival AIADMK. DMK last tested its luck in Valparai in 1996.
Electorate are looking for a change and they are not confident of Peoples Welfare Front as an option to defeat the AIADMK. Under such circumstances, a strong manifesto of the DMK born out of interactions with the public and their confidence that the party treasurer would ensure governance to the expectations of the electorate are the strengths for the DMK. In Coimbatore district, the party has fielded candidates who have risen from the field wherein they had interacted with the public and fought for their problems, says former Member of Legislative Council and party’s patron K.M. Dhandapani.
I have been assigned the responsibility of electioneering hence I have not even applied for a seat
Pongalur N. PalanisamyFormer Minister
