AIADMK extends last date for submission of applications for party ticket to contest poll

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Friday announced that the last date to apply for party tickets to contest Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala has been extended to December 31.

Originally, the process was to end on December 23. Extending the deadline, party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that those who want to participate in the polls can submit their forms between 28-31 December.

Meanwhile, two former Ministers C.Ve. Shanmugam and K. Pandiarajan, who is currently a Rajya Sabha MP, are considering shifting constituencies. Mr. Shanmugam, who lost in Villupuram in 2021, planned to move to Mailam from Villupuram, where he suffered a surprise defeat in the 2021 Assembly poll. He also falls under his hometown Mailam constituency. During the 2011 elections, the then party chief Jayalalithaa fielded him in Villupuram to take on K. Ponmudi and he emerged victorious.

In 2011, Mr. Pandiarajan was elected from Virudhunagar with the approval of AIADMK’s ally Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and five years later from Avadi, this time as the Dravidian major’s candidate. However, he lost in 2021. He plans to return to Virudhunagar. Apart from Avadi, three other constituencies (Anna Nagar, Ambattur and Tiruchendur) are also under consideration. Earlier this week, party spokesperson Kovai Sathyan submitted the form for Mylapore.