CPM releases TN candidates list

Chennai: The CPM on March 17 announced candidates for nine Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamil Nadu, including two women — U Vasuki for North Chennai and S Tamilselvi for Thanjavur - and two Dalit candidates.

CPM State secretary G. Ramakrishnan said one of the Dalit candidates, K Samuel Raj, will contest the Virudhunagar general constituency. He is the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF).

G Anandhan, another Dalit candidate, will contest from the Villupuram reserved constituency. He is the party’s State committee member.

The party has renominated its sitting MP, P R Natarajan, who was elected from Coimbatore in the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, and A V Bellarmine from Kanyakumari. Bellarmine was elected from Nagercoil in 2004, before it was renamed after delimitation.

Madurai City unit secretary of the party P Vikraman will contest the Madurai seat which elected party candidate late P Mohan twice in the past.

S Sridhar, the party’s Tiruchi district unit secretary, is the Tiruchi candidate. Dindigul district secretary N Pandi will enter the fray at Dindigul.

Vasuki, secretariat member of the party, is the daughter of senior CPM leader R Umanath and the late Papa Umanath.

Tamilselvi is the Thanjavur district secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association.

Ramakrishnan ruled out the possibility of ties with the AIADMK. The situation did not arise as the AIADMK leadership had conveyed its decision to break ties with the Left parties.

He said the Communists could not align with the DMK as it was part of the Congress-led UPA and supported its neo-liberalisation policies.