85% candidates finalised, 15% pending: Congress to seal Tamil Nadu list at CEC meet today | India News
New Delhi: The Indian National Congress As the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in Delhi prepares to finalize candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, 85 per cent names have already been decided, according to state unit chief K Selvaperunthagai.Selvaperunthagai said that the talks involving senior leaders including Mallikarjun Kharg and Rahul Gandhi have largely concluded, with only a small portion remaining to be finalised.“All India Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and senior leaders discussed the candidates. 85% decided, 15% pending. Today we are going to decide,” he said.The Congress will contest 28 seats as part of an alliance led by Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) chief Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.D DMK Deciding to contest 164 of the 234 seats, it retained the majority, allotting the remaining 70 seats to its partners. Apart from the Congress, important allies include the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) with five seats each, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Kachi (VK) with eight seats and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) with four seats.Other alliance partners include the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) with 10 seats and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with two seats as smaller regional players.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin Several important constituencies have already announced their names.Stalin will contest from Kolathur, while Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin has fielded from Chepauk-Thiruvalikeni.Other prominent candidates include Mahesh from Kanyakumari, Appavu from Radhapuram, Bahab from Palayamkottai, Kalaikathiravan from Tenkasi and KKSSR Ramachandran from Arupukottai. Additional names include Velu of Mylapore and Maa Subramanian of Saidapet.The main contest in the state is expected between the DMK-led SPA and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led NDA, which includes the BJP and the PMK.A recent survey by polling agency Lok Poll projected a strong performance for the DMK alliance, projecting 181 to 189 seats with a vote share of 40.1 percent. The AIADMK-led alliance was projected to get 38 to 42 seats.Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.Last date for submission of nominations is April 6, scrutiny is April 7 and candidates can withdraw nominations till April 9.With candidate lists nearing completion and alliances finalised, political parties are entering the final stages of preparations for what will be a closely watched electoral contest in the state.
