The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday named candidates for two vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu and the Vellore Lok Sabha seat.
Six Rajya Sabha seats from the state will be vacant by July 24, and the AIADMK and the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam can win three each based on their strength in the Assembly. If more than six candidates contest the polls, the election will take place on July 18.
The AIADMK fielded former minister A Mohammedjan and the party’s Mettur secretary N Chandrasekaran for two seats, while its ally Pattali Makkal Katchi fielded Anbumani Ramadoss. The parties had decided this arrangement in March when they formed an alliance before the Lok Sabha elections.
The biennial elections for five seats will take place to replace AIADMK MPs T Rathinavel, V Maitreyan, KR Arjunan and R Lakshmanan and D Raja of the Communist Party of India, whose six-year terms in the Rajya Sabha end on July 24. A sixth seat had fallen vacant after Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi got elected to the Lok Sabha in May.
The DMK has nominated General Secretary of the party’s Labour Progressive Front M Shanmugam and senior Advocate P Wilson as its Rajya Sabha candidates. It has allotted the third seat to Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko, according to an earlier agreement. The 75-year-old leader was on Friday convicted in a sedition case filed against him in 2009.
Vellore seat
The AIADMK named AC Shanmugam, the president of New Justice Party, as the alliance candidate for Vellore Lok Sabha constituency against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Kathir Anand. Vellore was the only Lok Sabha constituency out of 543 that did not go to polls during the General Elections in April and May. The poll there was cancelled after allegations of money being used to influence voters. The election has now been scheduled for August 5.
Both the announcements were made by the AIADMK’s coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami.
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