Puducherry, March 22 The secretary of the territorial unit of AIADMK, A Anbalagan, will be contesting from the Uppalam constituency on behalf of the NDA in the April 9 Assembly election, the party said on Sunday.
A Gandhi, a former deputy secretary of the AIADMK here, is the party's nominee in Orleanpet constituency, according to a party statement.
Anbalagan, a senior leader in AIADMK, was first elected from Uppalam in 2001. He retained the constituency on the AIADMK ticket in the 2006, 2011, and 2016 elections as well.
He lost the 2021 election to his DMK rival, Annibal Kennedy. AIADMK was also part of the NDA in the previous election.
Gandhi, the AIADMK candidate in Orleanpet, is a newcomer in electoral politics. AIADMK has been allocated two constituencies within the NDA led by AINRC, which is contesting in 16 seats.
AIADMK had formed governments in Puducherry in 1974 and 1977, although these governments were short-lived. The party had no success in the 1980 elections. The party also lost all five constituencies it contested in 2021. Now, AIADMK will aim to win the Uppalam seat from the DMK and Orleanpet from the Independent candidate, G Nehru.
The territorial Assembly has a total of 30 seats. The election is scheduled to be held simultaneously on April 9 in all four regions: Puducherry (23 seats), Karaikal (5 seats), Mahe and Yanam regions (one seat each).