TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK's 1st candidate list for Tamil Nadu polls out amid AIMIM alliance

TTV Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) released the first list of candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on Wednesday. The list, comprising of former ministers who were expelled from AIADMK, named 15 candidates who would be contesting in the Assembly polls scheduled to be held in a single-phase, with the polling of votes on April 6 followed by counting & declaration of result on May 2. In the first list of candidates released by AMMK, former AIADMK minister Palaniappan will contest from Paapireddipatti constituency, Senthamilan from Saidapet constituency, Shanmugavelu from Madathikulam constituency among other leaders.

AMMK releases first list of candidates

Owaisi's AIMIM joins hands with Dinakaran's AMMK

Tamil Nadu's latest alliance partners AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief TTV Dhinakaran will address a public rally in Chennai on March 12, as per sources. In a surprising move, AMMK announced an alliance with Owaisi's AIMIM for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with Dhinakaran announcing on Monday that AIMIM will contest three seats Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri, and Sankarapuram. TTV Dhinakaran's announcement on AMMK-AIMIM joining hands came a week after former Jayalalithaa aide VK Sasikala announced her 'retirement' from politics. Meanwhile, Marudhu Sennai Sangam signed a seat-sharing pact with AMMK and will contest in one seat. 

On March 3, Sasikala abruptly quit politics and urged the AIADMK cadre to unite ahead of the polls and fight the DMK to 'continue Amma's AIADMK rule in Tamil Nadu for 100 years. AIADMK has asserted that no one can pressurize the party to include AMMK in the AIADMK-led alliance, ruling out a possibility of reconciliation with Sasikala and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran. As per the seat-sharing talks, AIADMK has allotted BJP - 20 seats and Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, while MDMK will contest 23 seats. The remaining seats will be contested by the ruling AIADMK which has fielded incumbent CM E Palaniswami as its CM candidate.

Tamil Nadu polls

The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. He has also announced a slew of social measures like Pongal gift hampers, farm loan waiver, free COVID-19 vaccines, passing school students etc which has been slammed by DMK M K Stalin calling it 'pre-poll appeasement'.  Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats.

Image credits: PTI