Vaiko chooses Koilpatti, to contest Assembly poll after 20 years

Chennai: MDMK leader Vaiko will contest the Tamiull Nadu Assembly polls after a gap of 20 years. He wil seek election from Koilpatti constituency. The MDMK released its list of 29 candidates.

Vaiko released the party list of candidates at an election rally in Anna Nagar in Chennai on April 16.

In the 1996 Assembly election, Vaiko contested from Vilathikulam constituency and lost by a narrow margin of 634 votes to DMK candidate K. Ravisankar.

He lost in the Lok Sabha election too and only emerged third by bagging 2,04,339 votes in Sivakasi.

Ever since, Vaiko did not contest the Assembly polls but won the Lok Sabha polls from Sivakasi seat in 1998 and 1999. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he lost in Virudhunagar.

Vaiko announced the candidates for 27 seats, and also two constituencies to be contested by fringe Tamil nationalist outfits. Ki Veeralakshmi, chief of Tamilar Munnetra Padai, will contest from Pallavaram constituency, and Nagai Tiruvalluvan of Tamil Puligal Katchi from Dharapuram seat. The two would contest on the MDMK symbol of top.

Candidates of note are former MLA Dr. T. Sadhan Thirumalai Kumar (Sankarankovil), Mallai Sathya (Thiruporur), Redsun Ambigapathi (Thousand Lights), K.M.A. Nizam (Palayamkottai), R. Anthiridas (Avadi), and Murad Buhari (Harbour).

Following is the full list of MDMK candidates:

Poonamallee (Reserved):    Poovai D Kandhan
Avadi:    Era Anthridas
Harbour:    Murad Bukhari
Thousand Lights:    Redsun C Ambikapathy
Anna Nagar:    Mallika Dayalan
Tiruporur:    Mallai Sathya
Arcot:    P N Udhayakumar
Senjee:    A K Mani
Erode (West):    N Murugan
Palladam:    K Muthurathinam
Singanallur:    Arjunraj
Kinathukadavu:    V Eswaran
Aravakurichi:    K Kalaiyarasan
Trichy (East):    Dr Rohaiya Sheikh Mohd
Jayankondam:    M S Kandasamy
Palayamkottai:    K M A Nijam
Alangudi:    Dr K Chandrasekharan
Karaikudi:    S. Sevandhiyappan
Madurai (South):    Pudhur Mu Bhoominathan
Usilampatti:    A Bhaskar Sethupathy
Sathur:    Dr A R R Raghuraman
Thoothukudi:    Fathima Babu
Koilpatti:    Vaiko
Sankarankoil (Reserved):    Dr Sadan Thirumalaikumar
Nagercoil:    Rani Selvin
Colachel:    Sampath Chandra
Mudukalathur:    P Rajkumar
Pallavaram:    K Veeralakshmi (Tamizhar Munnetra Padai)
Dharapuram:    Nagai Thiruvalluvan (Tamil Puligal Katchi)