Chennai: With major parties in Tamil Nadu yet to finalise their candidates for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls, PMK, new found ally of the AIADMK, and fledgling DMDK have made a head start by announcing their nominees.
The PMK has named candidates for all the seven seats it would be contesting while the DMDK, which is going it alone, has come out with the nominees for over 20 of the 40 seats, including the one in neighbouring Puducherry.
AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa is engaged in hard bargaining with two of her allies — MDMK and CPI-M — over seat sharing.
The ruling DMK has completed the seat sharing exercise among its four allies — Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, IUML and Manitha Neya Makkal Katchi, the political arm of the Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam — but is yet to release the candidates list.
Similar is the case with Congress and other DMK allies and CPI, which has been allotted three seats by the AIADMK.
Among the PMK candidates, J Guru, whose "provocative" remarks against DMK leaders triggered the break-up of ties with the ruling party, is the lone new face with the party renominating all its six sitting MPs.
Other prominent PMK candidates are Prof M Ramadoss, who would seek re-election from Puducherry, former Minister of State for Railways R Velu (Arakonam) and another former Union Minister of State E Ponnuswamy.
PMK, which ditched the UPA to align with the AIADMK, is fielding Guru from Tiruvannamalai where the DMK is gearing to test its strength.
In the Congress-ruled Puducherry, the PMK will face its former ally in the battle for votes. Congress leaders claim they "sacrificed" the seat, considered their stronghold, to PMK in the last elections.
As for the DMDK, the party is fielding, among others, former AIADMK minister M G Damodaran in Cuddalore and K Pandiarajan, CEO of HR service provider MaFoi, from Virudhunagar, which is the birthplace of late K Kamaraj.
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