Stalin himself will defend the Kolathur seat. His son and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has been fielded from Chepauk-Triplicane. The father and son will both be on the ballot when Tamil Nadu votes.
The Names That Stand Out
The list came with a few decisions that immediately caught attention. Former minister Senthil Balaji has been given the Coimbatore South constituency. That is a significant seat in a significant city and putting Balaji there signals how seriously the party is taking that region.
The bigger surprise for many was the inclusion of former AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam. The one-time Chief Minister who fell out spectacularly with the AIADMK leadership will now contest from Bodinayakkanur under the DMK umbrella. That is a political journey few would have predicted even a year ago.
Other names on the list include Mahesh from Kanyakumari, Wahab from Palayamkottai, KKSSR Ramachandran from Aruppukottai, Ramanathan from Thanjavur, EV Velu from Thiruvannamalai and Ma Subramanian from Saidapet.
Stalin Had a Line Ready
At the press briefing Stalin did not miss the chance to address criticism that the DMK had been slow to release its candidate list while other parties had already announced theirs.
"We came at last but we are latest," he said. It landed the way he intended it to.
He also pointed out the composition of the candidate list — 18 women, 15 doctors and 29 lawyers among those fielded. The party manifesto is set to drop on Sunday and campaigning kicks off from Tuesday.
Seat Sharing Locked In
The alliance math has been finalised. DMK takes the lion's share with 164 seats. The Congress has been allocated 28 seats including Ponneri, Erode East, Vilavankode, Sivakasi and Karaikudi.
The breakdown for the remaining alliance partners looks like this —
- DMDK led by Premalatha Vijayakanth: 10 seats
- VCK led by Thol Thirumavalavan: 8 seats
- CPI: 5 seats
- CPI-M: 5 seats
- MDMK led by Vaiko: 4 seats
- IUML: 2 seats
- Manithaneya Makkal Katchi: 2 seats
- Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi: 1 seat
- SDPI: 1 seat
The alliance covers the full 234-seat Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly between them.
The Dates Are Set
Voting across Tamil Nadu takes place on April 23. Results will be declared on May 4. The DMK is going in as the incumbent party with Stalin looking to extend his tenure as Chief Minister. The opposition will be watching every name on that list very carefully between now and polling day.
The campaign starts Tuesday. Tamil Nadu politics is about to get loud.
