Following the conclusion of a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP, the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK) revealed its candidates for the upcoming seven-phased Lok Sabha elections on Sunday.
The AMMK general secretary, TTV Dhinakaran, declared the names of the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
As per an agreement within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the AMMK will vie for two seats in the southern state governed by the DMK. Dhinakaran will personally contest the Theni Lok Sabha seat, while Senthilnathan has been selected as the NDA candidate for Trichy.
“AMMK will contest two seats in Tamil Nadu as a partner in the NDA. I would contest Theni while Senthilnathan would file his nomination papers from Trichy,” Dhinakaran told reporters on Sunday.
“Let the people now decide who wins from Theni. I got the name ‘Makkal Selvan’ (people’s hero) from Theni. I have worked in the constituency before and the people, here, know me well.”
“My dear friend O Pannerselvam’s son, OP Ravindhranath, is the present MP (from Theni). When I came here last month, they (the sitting MP and his father) asked me to contest this seat. The people, too, requested that I fight the Lok Sabha elections from Theni. Then I spoke with Pannerselvam and other leaders in the alliance. OPS eventually decided to set aside the seat for me and contest Ramanathapuram instead. He would win and so would I,” Dhinakaran said.
In addition to the AMMK, the NDA has also forged a seat-sharing pact with the Ambumani Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The voting for all 39 seats in Tamil Nadu is scheduled to take place in the initial phase of the general elections on April 19.
During the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which included the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, secured a resounding triumph by clinching 38 out of the 39 seats in the state.
In 2019, the DMK secured victory in 23 Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress won 8 seats and the CPI secured 2 seats.