New Delhi/Chennai, April 3 The BJP on Friday released a list of 27 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, fielding Union Minister L Murugan from the Avanashi seat and former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan from Mylapore.
Although it was speculated that former state party chief K Annamalai would be fielded, he had asked the party to relieve him of the responsibility of campaign manager, citing his father’s health.
In March, he had said that he had not sought an opportunity to contest.
BJP Mahila Morcha national president Vanathi Srinivasan will contest from Coimbatore (North), according to the list issued by the party.
The party has named Kirthika Shivkumar as its candidate from Modakkurichi, S Vijayadharani from Vilavancode, and Nagesh Kumar from the Thalli seat.
Polling for the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly is scheduled to be held on April 23.
The party has retained three sitting MLAs, renominating senior leader M R Gandhi from Nagercoil. Party president Nainar Nagenthran, who won from the Tirunelveli constituency in the 2021 election, has been fielded from Sattur.
Vanathi Srinivasan, who defeated actor-politician Kamal Haasan from Coimbatore South, has been nominated from Coimbatore North.
The party has nominated Kirthika Shivkumar from Modakkurichi, from where BJP candidate C Saraswathi, a doctor by profession, defeated DMK leader Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan in 2021.
Both Sattur and Coimbatore North were allotted to the AIADMK during seat-sharing negotiations.
The AIADMK had offered the Avanashi (SC) seat, from where its former Speaker P Dhanapal had won in the previous election.
The party has nominated five women candidates, including practising advocate S Vijayadharani from the Vilavancode constituency in Kanyakumari district.
She won this seat for three consecutive terms in 2011, 2016, and 2021 on a Congress ticket. She joined the BJP in February 2024 following differences with the Congress. She is the great-granddaughter of noted social reformer Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai.
BJP women’s wing state president Kavitha Srikanth has been nominated from Aranthangi.
“In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, they asked me to contest. Now, nobody has asked me to contest. I did not seek an opportunity, and I am carrying out the tasks assigned to me. If the party decides and asks me to contest, I will,” Annamalai told reporters in Coimbatore last month.
He unsuccessfully contested from Aravakurichi in the 2021 Assembly election and also lost the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congratulating the party candidates, Annamalai, who is campaigning in Kannur in neighbouring Kerala, said they carry the support of every “brother and sister of Tamil Nadu” who are “tired of corruption, complacency, and the DMK’s betrayal.”
“Under the visionary leadership of our Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi, India has moved forward with strength, scale, and purpose. While the nation progresses, Tamil Nadu has been held back by a failed, arrogant, and self-serving DMK government,” Annamalai said in a post on 'X' on Friday.
“As a karyakarta, I will stand shoulder to shoulder and campaign for all our winning BJP and NDA candidates, with the aim of the NDA winning 210 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections,” he added.
Rajya Sabha MP Murugan, currently Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, had contested from the Dharapuram constituency and lost by a narrow margin in 2021.
He also unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Nilgiris.
Former state president Tamilisai Soundararajan, who will contest from Mylapore, resigned as Governor and returned to party work ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
She is the daughter of veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan and a doctor by profession.