Chennai, March 28 "These are not just candidates; they are victorious candidates," said DMK President M K Stalin, after announcing the names of the 164 party nominees, including himself, for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls on Saturday.
He emphatically declared that the DMK's "2.0" government will come to power.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister retained all but three of his cabinet colleagues, while removing senior party leader and former minister K Ponmudy, who stepped down following a controversy over his comments about two Hindu sects last year. However, Stalin fielded Ponmudy's son and Member of Parliament, Pon Gautama Sigamani, from Tirukkovilur, the seat his father represents in the outgoing Assembly.
The DMK chief also fielded over 60 new faces.
Stalin, who is leading the DMK-led SPA's campaign, is aiming to set a new record by leading the party for a consecutive term, a feat achieved by the AIADMK twice. He is contesting from the city's Kolathur segment for the fourth term, having first won here in 2011. Stalin has led the Secular Progressive Alliance to impressive victories, starting from the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Party veteran and its general secretary Durai Murugan is contesting from his traditional seat Katpadi in Vellore district. The leader, in his 80s, has been part of the late M Karunanidhi-led cabinets in the past. He is presently the Water Resources Minister.
Stalin's son Udhayanidhi, who made his electoral debut in the 2021 elections from Chepauk-Triplicane, has been renominated from the city segment. The Deputy Chief Minister and DMK Youth Wing chief, who has been actively assisting his father in party affairs, is also being seen as a possible future Chief Ministerial candidate of the Dravidian party.
Senior ministers, including K N Nehru, EV Velu, S Reghupathy, I Periyasamy and R Sakkarapani, have been retained and will be contesting the upcoming elections from the constituencies they currently represent, according to the list released by the Chief Minister.
Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and IT Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan have also been retained.
Stalin has not renominated Ministers Mano Thangaraj, R Rajendran and R Gandhi.
While fielding over 60 new faces, he has also retained some of the MLAs from the outgoing Assembly. These include senior figures such as Poondi M Kalaivanan. At least six MLAs in Chennai have not been renominated.
Others who have found a place in the list include expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam and his close aides R Vaithilingam and Paul Manoj Pandian.
Panneerselvam recently joined the DMK, a move that surprised many, as he was involved in a campaign to "retrieve" the AIADMK from Edappadi K Palaniswami. He will contest from Bodinayakkanur, the seat he represented in the outgoing House before resigning since joining the DMK.
Another interesting move is shifting former Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji from his stronghold Karur to Coimbatore South. This move is seen as a strategic move by the DMK to strengthen itself in Coimbatore and surrounding regions, which are generally a stronghold of the AIADMK.
The candidates include 29 lawyers, 17 engineers and 15 doctors. At least 18 women are also in the fray.
Single-phase elections to 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 23. Of these, the DMK is contesting from 164 seats, while 11 of its alliance party candidates are contesting on the party's Rising Sun symbol, effectively making it 175.