TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: Four sitting DMK MLAs from Tiruchirappalli district have been denied renomination in the party’s latest candidate list, triggering fresh political chatter within the district unit.
In the 2021 Assembly election, the DMK won all nine constituencies in Tiruchirappalli district, and K.N. Nehru and Anbil Mahesh were inducted as ministers. Later, MLAs from Lalgudi (Sowndarapandian), Thuraiyur (Stalin Kumar), Musiri (Thiyagarajan) and Srirangam (Palaniyandi) reportedly complained that even constituency work contracts were being decided by Minister Nehru and that they were not being given due respect. They are said to have taken the issue to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin as well.
While Thiyagarajan and Stalin Kumar subsequently kept a low profile, Palaniyandi and Sowndarapandian continued to make open remarks critical of Nehru, according to party sources.
In the newly released DMK candidate list, Thiyagarajan (Musiri), Palaniyandi (Srirangam) and Sowndarapandian (Lalgudi) have not been given another chance, with new faces named for those seats. Thuraiyur has been allotted to alliance partner Congress, effectively ruling out a DMK ticket for sitting MLA Stalin Kumar.
Supporters of the four MLAs have alleged that Nehru ensured they did not get tickets after they opposed him. The party has not issued any official statement on the claims in the report.
