The AIADMK on Saturday named A. Mohammed John, former Minister, and N. Chandrasekaran, secretary of the Mettur city unit of the party, as candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu on July 18.
In 2011, Mr. John, who was elected from Ranipet constituency in Vellore district, was given the portfolio of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities, Overseas Indians, Refugees and Evacuees and Minorities, including Wakf. He held the post till June 2013. He was not re-nominated during the 2016 Assembly election.
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The announcement, made by the AIADMK’s coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam, and co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami through a press release, ended speculation on potential candidates as several prominent leaders of the ruling party, including M. Thambi Durai, Natham R. Viswanathan, K.P. Munusamy, S. Gokula Indira, A. Anwhar Raajhaa and Manoj H. Pandian, were said to be vying for slots in the Rajya Sabha. The release stated that the decision was taken by the party's high-powered committee.
The nomination of a Muslim figure was aimed at addressing the criticism levelled against the AIADMK during the distribution of party tickets for the Lok Sabha polls that it had not fielded any Muslim candidates. This was also done to woo Muslim voters, who are in substantial numbers in Vellore parliamentary constituency, where an election is due on August 5, a senior party leader said.
Mr. Chandrasekaran, considered close to the Chief Minister, belonged to the Arundathiyar community. The selection of the two candidates reminded the cadre of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s style of functioning, in terms of springing a surprise in such matters, the leader added.
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The AIADMK said the other Rajya Sabha seat from the State will be allotted to the PMK, as decided at the time of forging an alliance for the Lok Sabha election in March.
Likewise, A.C. Shanmugam, founder of the New Justice Party, will contest on the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol in Vellore.