The DMK, which will take on the ruling AIADMK in 34 constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the lone Puducherry seat, has 27 new faces in the list of candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The list was released by party president M. Karunanidhi on Monday.
The youngest among them is 26-year-old woman H. Pavitra Valli, an MBA holder, who will contest from Erode.
Another woman candidate is S. Umarani for the Salem constituency.
The oldest contestant is the former Minister, Pon. Muthuramalingam, for Theni.
Dayanidhi Maran retains seat In Chennai, T.K.S. Elangovan, elected from North Chennai has been fielded in South Chennai and the North Chennai candidate is 52-year-old advocate R. Girirajan, a loyalist of party treasurer M.K. Stalin. The former Union Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, has retained Central Chennai.
Former Union Minister S. Jagathrakshagan has been given the Sriperumbudur seat instead of Arakkonam, the constituency which returned him in 1999 and again in 2009.
N.R. Elango, a well-known lawyer, who appeared for many senior DMK ministers in the cases filed by the State government, is the candidate for Arakkonam.
A.K.S. Vijayan, a three-time MP from the Nagapattinam (reserved) seat has got re-nomination.
Pongalur N. Palanisamy, former Minister, is the candidate for Pollachi and another former Minister Pon. Muthuramalingam has been fielded in Theni.
R. Thamaraiselvan, adjudged as one of the top performers in the Lok Sabha by the PRS Legislative Research (PRS), will again contest from the Dharmapuri constituency.
The former Union Minister S. Gandhi Selvan has been re-nominated from Namakkal.
P. Jagan, son of N. Periyasami, the DMK’s strong man in Tuticorin, has been given ticket to contest from the Tuticorin constituency.
Actor J.K. Ritheesh, Alagiri loyalist, representing Ramanathapuram, did not seek ticket this time. S. Mohamed Jaleel has been named as the candidate for the constituency.
Seats for former AIADMK men Former AIADMK Minister M. Chinnasamy, who joined the DMK a few years ago, is the candidate for Karur.
F.M. Rajarathinam, who reigned supreme in the AIADMK in Kanyakumari during the days of MGR, has been allotted the Kanyakumari seat for switching loyalty to the DMK.
Besides, three former Union Ministers — M.K. Alagiri, S.S. Palanimanickam and D. Napoleon, the sitting MPs who could not get tickets are E.G. Sugavanam, a two-time MP from Krishnagiri, J.K. Ritheesh, an Alagiri supporter, who was elected from the Ramanathapuram constituency, D. Venugopal, representing Tiruvannamalai constituency, Adhi Shankar, elected from Kallakurichi, S. R. Jeyadurai, elected from the Thoothukudi constituency and Helen Davidson, representing the Kanyakumari constituency.
Three doctors There are three doctors — K. Muthaiyan (Villupuram), M. Senthilnathan (Tirupur) and K. Nandagopalakrishnan (Cuddalore) — in the list and all of them are new faces.
The other new faces include R. Girirajan (North Chennai) G. Selvam (Kancheepuram) P. Chinna Pillappa (Krishnagiri), C.N. Annadurai (Tiruvannamalai), former MLA R. Sivanandam (Arni), R. Manimaran (Kallakurichi), K. Ganeshkumar (Coimbatore), S. Gandhirajan (Dindigul), S. Durairaj (Sivaganga), S. Rethinavelu (Virudhunagar) and S. Prabu (Perambalur).
1 Chennai North — R Girirajan
2 Chennai South — TKS Elangovan
3 Central Chennai — Dayanidhi Maran
4 Sriperumbudur — S Jegathrakshakan
5 Kanchipuram (SC) — G Selvam
6 Arakkonam — NR Elango
7 Krishnagiri — P Chinna Pillappa
8 Dharmapuri — R Thamarai Selvan
9 Tiruvannamalai — CN Annadurai
10 Arani — R Sivanandam
11 Villupuram (SC) — Dr K Muthayan
12 Kallakurichi — R Manimaran
13 Salem — S Umarani
14 Namakkal — S Gandhiselvan
15 Erode — H Pavitra Valli
16 Tiruppur — Dr S Senthilnathan
17 Nilgiri (SC) — A Raja
18 Coimbatore — K Ganeshkumar
19 Pollachi — N Palanisamy
20 Dindugul — S Gandhirajan
21 Karur — M Chinnusamy
22 Tiruchirappally — NMU Anbazhagan
23 Perambalur — S Prabu
24 Cuddalore — Dr K Nandagopalakrishnan
25 Nagapattinam (SC) — AKS Vijayan
26 Thanjavur — TR Baalu
27 Sivagangai — S Durairaj
28 Madurai — V Velusamy
29 Theni — Pon Muthuramalingam
30 Virudhunagar — S Rethinavelu
31 Ramanathapuram — S Mohamed Jaleel
32 Tuticorin — P Jegan
33 Tirunelveli — C Devadasa Sundaram
34 Kanyakumari — FM Rajarathinam
35 Puducherry — AMH Nazeem
