People must prove their worth: Palaniswami hits out at DMK after MK Stalin's son gets ticket

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami slammed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over dynasty politics on Saturday, a day after the son of the opposition party’s chief MK Stalin received a ticket to contest the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Speaking during a poll campaign in Salem, Palaniswami said if the DMK comes to power, "it would be the family that will become a power centre," news agency ANI reported. "People must prove that one who works for them deserves higher posts like the chief minister," he also said while calling for an end to the "dynasty politics of DMK," ANI also reported.

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Stalin's son Udhayanidhi, in his political debut, will contest from Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni constituency, which was represented by the late J Anbazhagan who died last year due to Covid-19. Udhayanidhi is a third-generation politician from the Stalin family, which holds the reign of the DMK, once headed by his grandfather, the late M Karunanidhi.

On Friday, the DMK announced candidates for 173 seats. As per the seat-sharing formula, the DMK allotted 61 seats to its allies, with the Congress taking the lion's share of 25. The party retained its veteran leaders by pitting sitting MLAs and prominent faces across the assembly seats such as party general secretary S Durai Murugan, Thangam Thennarsu, Palanivel Thiagaran, PK Sekhar Babu, former state IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna. Stalin, who is also a sitting MLA from Kolathur, will seek a third term from the constituency.

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Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 6 and the counting of votes will take place on May 2. The DMK is in a direct contest with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is contesting the polls in alliance with the AIADMK.