Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin (left), addresses a press conference announcing the party’s candidates for the upcoming State Assembly elections, at the party’s headquarters Anna Arivalayam, in Chennai
| Photo Credit:
PTI
The Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin released the candidates’ list at the party’s headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, largely retaining most of his Cabinet colleagues.
Stalin himself will be contesting from the Kolathur constituency, and his son, the Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, from Chepauk. Most of the other senior ministers, including Durai Murugan, KN Nehru, PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Thangam Thennarasu, Anbil Mahesh and the Assembly Speaker Appavu, will be contesting from their respective constituencies.
The disgruntled former chief minister and AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam, who recently shifted to the DMK, will be contesting from Bodi constituency.
Among the prominent names missing from the candidates’ list are K Ponmudy, who had previously been dropped from the Cabinet following controversial public statements. However, another controversial figure and former minister, Senthil Balaji, who had been dropped from the Cabinet last year, will be contesting from the Coimbatore (South) constituency, a change from his current constituency, Karur.
While Minister R Gandhi was not on the list, his son Vinod Gandhi has been accommodated.
More than 60 candidates are new faces contesting the Assembly elections; the list also includes 18 women candidates.
Arch-rivals DMK and the AIADMK will be in direct competition in 120 constituencies. The DMK and BJP will clash head-on in 18 constituencies.
Last week, the DMK, which leads an alliance of over a couple of dozen parties under the Secular Progressive Alliance, had announced the seat-sharing numbers for the 234-seat Assembly. While the DMK had retained 164 seats for itself and 70 seats for its allies, 11 from the smaller partners will be contesting under the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol, taking the total number of constituencies being contested under the Rising Sun symbol to 175.
Among the main party allies, the DMK had allocated 28 seats for the Congress, 10 for the DMDK, eight for the VCK, five seats each for the CPI and the CPI(M), four for the MDMK and the others getting one or two seats.
Published on March 28, 2026