Jalayalithaa to contest from Chennai, AIADMK announces candidates

AIADMK general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa announced on Monday that she will seek re-election from the Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency here.

At a time when other parties are finalising seat sharing arrangements with others, Jayalalithaa released the list of AIADMK candidates for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala assembly elections.

Jayalalithaa has decided to contest from Chennai at a time when opposition parties are hoping to make the government's handling of the massive December floods in the city a major election plank.

The AIADMK will contest in 227 of the 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu. It has allotted seven constituencies to its alliance partners.

While the party has retained a majority of the ministers in the list of candidates, some outgoing legislators have been dropped.

The notable new entrant is Panruti S. Ramachandran, who had quit the DMDK and joined AIADMK.

Ramachandran was one of the leading lights of the AIADMK when party founder late M.G. Ramachandran presided over the state.

Actor-turned-politician and All India Samathuva Katchi leader R. Sarathkumar will contest from Thiruchendur constituency.

In Puducherry, the AIADMK will contest all the 30 seats and in Kerala it will put up seven candidates.

In the 2011 elections, the AIADMK had tied up with NR Congress in Puducherry. After the elections, the relationship between the two soured.