DMK on Friday announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly election, triggering visible discontent among a section of party functionaries in Chennai. Chennai Mayor R. Priya, who had been working in the Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar constituency with hopes of contesting, was not included in the list, according to party sources.
The report said Priya had submitted an application at the DMK headquarters and, after receiving assurances from a minister, had spent months campaigning in the constituency and engaging with residents through welfare assistance. Several councillors had also publicly spoken in recent corporation meetings about her expected move to the Assembly race, but her name did not figure in the final list.
Deputy Mayor Mahesh Kumar, who had expressed interest in contesting from Saidapet and Velachery, also did not get a ticket. The report attributed this to Health Minister Ma. Subramanian contesting from Saidapet and Velachery being allotted to the Congress.
Several sitting MLAs in Chennai and its suburbs were also denied renomination, including T. Nagar (J. Karunanidhi), Royapuram (Idream Moorthy), Egmore (Parandhaman), Villivakkam (Vetri Azhagan), Tiruvottiyur (K.P.P. Sankar), Ambattur (Joseph Samuel), Pallavaram (Karunanidhi) and Tambaram (S.R. Raja). In Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar, the sitting MLA was replaced by Ravichandran, the report said.
Supporters of S.R. Raja reportedly staged a protest outside party treasurer T.R. Baalu’s residence in West Tambaram on Friday night, raising slogans demanding changes to the Tambaram candidate and district secretary. Amid the backlash, J. Karunanidhi resigned from his post as area secretary and wrote to the party leadership, stating that his years of work and sincerity were not being valued.
