Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is facing difficulty finalising candidates after party chief Vijay reportedly told aspirants not to expect financial support for election expenses and that tickets would go only to those who can fund their own campaigns.
According to state-level functionaries, the party’s internal assessment is that spending at least Rs 2 crore is needed even to secure the election deposit, while a serious campaign could require anywhere between Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore. Based on this, the leadership decided to consider only financially capable candidates.
Officials said around 60 party members meeting the criteria were initially shortlisted across districts including Chennai, Sivaganga, Tirunelveli, Tiruvallur, Ariyalur, Coimbatore and Karur, and Vijay held discussions with them on March 9. However, those shortlisted reportedly backed out after the meeting.
In the next round, the party consulted 330 people, but only 32 reportedly agreed to contest. The same issue has been reported in Puducherry, where 12 of 30 shortlisted candidates are said to have expressed inability to bear expenses, delaying the candidate list.
Party sources also claimed that to verify claims of financial readiness, the leadership has asked aspirants to submit a bank demand draft of Rs 1 crore as proof of funds—an insistence that has reportedly discouraged many from seeking tickets.
