The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday released the list of its candidates who will contest from the 10 Assembly constituencies allotted to it under the AIADMK-led combine.
The candidates' list was finalised at the CPI State executive committee meeting held at the party's district unit office here in which senior leaders took part. The party has given another opportunity to three sitting MLAs – K. Ulaganathan, S. Gunasekaran and D. Ramachandran.
The constituencies and candidates are: Tiruthuraipoondi (reserved)-K. Ulaganathan; Sivaganga- S. Gunasekaran; Srivilliputhur (reserved)-V. Ponnupandi; Pudukottai - S.P.Muthukumaran; Thali -D. Ramachandran; Valparai (reserved)- M. Arumugam; Pennagaram – N. Nanjappan; Coonoor- A. Belli; Bhavani Sagar (reserved)-P.L. Sundaram and Gudiyatham (reserved)-K. Lingamuthu.
No woman candidate
Announcing the names of the candidates and releasing the election manifesto, CPI State secretary D. Pandian said that the party was pained that the list did not contain a woman candidate.
It was contesting with a resolve to remove the DMK government. The people had the responsibility of getting rid of the DMK government, which had brought bad name to Tamil Nadu.
The CPI will go with the poll slogan ‘Retrieve democracy in Tamil Nadu and free the State from the monopolistic grip of a family'. The State needs a government that will give impartial administration and ensure safety of life, property and rights of people, Mr. Pandian said.
The 2G spectrum scam will also be a major issue that will be highlighted by the party while seeking support for the AIADMK-led combine during campaign, he said.
Senior CPI leaders A.B. Bardhan, Sudhakar Reddy, D. Raja and Atul Kumar Anjaan will campaign in Tamil Nadu for a week seeking support for CPI candidates as well as for the AIADMK-led front, he said.
CPI national secretary and MP D. Raja said that the credibility of the DMK and the Congress was shattered in the wake of the scams.
Senior leader R. Nallakannu, party deputy secretaries C. Mahendran, G. Palanisamy, R. Mutharasan and V. Durai Manickam attended meeting.
