BJP fields 9 candidates for Tamil Nadu in third list for Lok Sabha elections
L Murugan, who is minister of state for information and technology, was renominated as the party’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in February.
The former Governor of Telangana and LG of Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan, who resigned from the gubernatorial position earlier this week, will be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate from Chennai South, Union minister L Murugan from Nilgiris and president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit, K Annamalai, has been given the ticket to contest from Coimbatore. according to a list of nine candidates announced for the state which will go to polls in the first phase of general elections on April 19.
Soundararajan had a controversial stint as Telangana governor, and accused the then ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of disrespecting a woman governor. A doctor turned politician, she was a former president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit but has not won any Lok Sabha or assembly polls. In 2019, she lost to DMK’s Kanimozhi from Toothukudi.
“I thank our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national president (JP Nadda) for giving me this opportunity. The mood of the people is electrified toward the lotus,” Soundararajan said.
L Murugan, who is minister of state for information and technology, was renominated as the party’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in February. A Dalit face of the party, it was during his presidency that the party positioned itself as an alternative to the regional satraps the DMK and the AIADMK. His “vetrivel yatra” carried out in reverence for the local deity Lord Muruga made him a household name.
Although Murugan shared amiable ties with the AIADMK, his successor, Annamalai, raised eyebrows for going against the party line by attacking the ally. The strain in ties between the BJP and the AIADMK is largely attributed to the former IPS officer’s aggressive posturing. Annamalai earned a pat on the back from the Prime Minister who commended him for his “En Mann En Makkal” (translate) yatra.
Read more: 'BJP jittery ahead of LS polls’: INDIA bloc slams Centre over Kejriwal's arrest
“Heartfelt thanks to our beloved PM @narendramodi for constituting his faith in me and making me to contest from Coimbatore in the 2024 Parliamentary election. This comes at a time when the people of TN are awaiting a political change that will take TN towards the destiny of development ,” Annamalai posted on X.
Striking a balance between experienced hands and new faces, the party has also given a ticket to Pon Radhakrishnan from Kanyakumari and Vinoj P Selvam from Chennai Central. Radhakrishnan was the minister of state for finance and shipping between May 2014 and May 2019. Born in Alathankarai village in Kanyakumari in 1952, he was elected to the 13th Lok Sabha from Nagercoil Lok Sabha constituency in 1999.
In 2000 he became an MoS for Youth Affairs and Sports and was later given charge of urban development and poverty alleviation. “He is an old hand, a well-known face of the party in the state. He won the seat from Kanyakumari in 2014 as well,” said a state leader.
Read more: Arvind Kejriwal is first sitting chief minister to be arrested
The 37-year-old Selvam, a former president of the state’s youth wing, is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and had unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls from Chennai Harbour. “He is leading businessman and seen as a young emerging leader in the state,” said the leader quoted above.
Selvam will face DMK heavyweight and incumbent Dayanidhi Maran, who was elected three times from the Chennai Central constituency. AIADMK has allotted the seat to ally Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which is yet to announce the candidate.
After the AIADMK quit the BJP, its remaining allies such as PMK and expelled AIADMK leaders TTV Dhinakaran and O Panneerselvam have aligned with the BJP. The PMK has been allotted 10 seats while Dhinakaran’s AMMK has been given two.
From Vellore, the party has fielded A C Shanmugam, the founder of the New Justice Party. He was earlier a member of the AIADMK and won the Lok Sabha elections in 1984. C. Narasimhan will contest from Krishnagiri, T R. Paarivendhar from Perambalur and Nainar Nagendran from Tirunelveli. The DMK has allotted the Tirunelveli seat to the Congress which is yet to announce their candidate.
The initial list released by the BJP suggested that Nagendran was to contest from Thoothukudi, from where Kanimozhi is seeking a re-election, but a corrected list was released a few minutes later.
