Vaiko gets a new AIADMK adversary

AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday made a seventh change in the list of her party’s candidates to fight the May 16 assembly election. She changed candidates in eight constituencies, including Kovilpatti from where MDMK General Secretary and People’s Welfare Front (PWF) Coordinator Vaiko is seeking election after a gap of 20 years, while fielding three more Ministers, who did not figure in the earlier list.

In Kovilpatti, AIADMK has pitted local heavyweight and Jayalalithaa Peravai Thoothukudi District Secretary Kadambur Raju, in place of K Ramanujam Ganesh, against Vaiko. Raju was said to be a well-known face in Thoothukudi district and has considerable clout among the voters. In a statement here, she said eight candidates have been changed. 

The list of new candidates included three Ministers, P Palaniappan, SP Shanmuganathan and P Mohan. Sources say contestants were being changed based on various factors and inputs and also to ensure the party’s victory in all 227 seats it is contesting. 

She said instead of Kuppusamy in Pappireddypatti, Palaniappan will be the new candidate of the AIADMK. Mohan will replace Rajasekar in Sankarapuram, while Shanmuganathan will replace Bhuvaneswaran in Srivaikuntam.

Tiruchy East will now have Vellamandi N Natrajan contesting the poll, while C Ravi was nominated for Arakkonam seat. KV Ramalingam will contest from Erode West and SKA Hyder Ali was nominated as the candidate for the Palayamkottai seat.