Political activity intensified on March 26 as parties moved quickly to finalise constituencies and candidates ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Election Commission’s deadline to add names to the voter list ends today. Those missing from the final roll can vote only if they apply immediately to be included in the supplementary list. In Tamil Nadu, around 3 lakh people have applied to be newly added to the voter list so far.
In Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, March 26 is the last day for candidates to withdraw nominations for the Assembly polls, with the final list of contestants expected to be released this evening.
In Tamil Nadu, PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss released the party’s election manifesto at Thailapuram in Villupuram district. Meanwhile, the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) postponed its candidate announcement that was scheduled for 11.30 am today to tomorrow; in the NDA alliance, five seats—Killiyoor, Ottanchathiram, Kumbakonam, Erode West and Ranipet—have been allotted to the TMC.
The DMK leadership is expected to announce the list of constituencies allotted to alliance partners today, after which the party’s own contesting seats will become clearer. Political circles also indicated that AIADMK may release its second list of candidates today, following an earlier list of 23 names.
