Ahead of Tamil Nadu polls, EPS flays Stalin over dynasty politics as Udhay gets DMK ticket

Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami attacked DMK chief MK Stalin over alleged nepotism after his son Udhayanidhi received a ticket from the party for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK's youth wing leader, will make his debut in electoral politics and will contest from the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency. Addressing a rally on Friday while campaigning in Salem, CM EPS asked what DMK had done for the people of Tamil Nadu apart from being involved in corruption and claimed that the party was all about family. 

Launching an attack on DMK's Stalin for leveling corruption allegations against the AIADMK government, CM EPS dared him to an open debate on the issue. Further, the AIADMK leader told Stalin that he would have to disclose the details of the pending corruption cases against members of his family during the debate, adding that the DMK supremo hadn't responded to his challenge yet. CM EPS urged the people of Tamil Nadu to not allow the 'family party' to come to power and claimed that Stalin, Kanimozhi, Udhayanidhi, Dayanidhi would usurp the office of power if elected. 

DMK unveils candidates list; Stalin, Udhay in fray

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) unveiled the first list of 173 candidates for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on Friday comprising of party chief MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi. DMK has decided to field MK Stalin once again from the Kolathur constituency while the party's youth wing leader Udhayanidhi was given a ticket from the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency. DMK has also decided to field Thanga Tamilselvan from Bodinayakanur against Dy CM O Panneerselvam while the party's General Secretary Durai Murugan will contest from the Katpadi constituency in Vellore district. Sitting MLA 'Poondi' K Kalaivananan will contest from the Tiruvarur constituency which was represented twice by former CM Karunanidhi. 

DMK-led alliance

DMK finalized the seat-sharing pact with ally Congress after multiple rounds of negotiations and allotted 25 seats along with the Lok Sabha constituency to the grand old party. DMK also inked the seat-sharing agreement with Left ally CPI(M) after multiple rounds of deliberation, as the latter demanded more seats to contest from whereas the former refused to budge. Apart from Congress and CPI(M), DMK also sealed the alliance with Viduthalai Makkal Katchi (VCK), allotting them six seats for the Assembly elections.

Three seats were given by DMK to Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) while two seats were allotted to Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK). Stalin's party had also sealed the seat-sharing agreement with the Communist Party of India (CPI), giving them six seats. MDMK's chief Vaiko informed on Saturday that the DMK chief MK Stalin has signed an agreement by which 6 assembly seats have been allotted to MDMK. The Kongunaadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) finalized the seat-sharing pact with DMK chief MK Stalin on Tuesday, agreeing to field three candidates under DMK's symbol in the upcoming elections. KMDK general secretary NR Eswaran signed the seat-sharing pact at the DMK headquarters in Chennai along with other members of both parties. The Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be held on April 6 and the result will be declared on May 2.