AIADMK announces five candidates for Rajya Sabha polls

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa Monday renominated Rajya Sabha member V. Maitreyan for another term while announcing her party's five candidates for the June 27 upper house polls.

In a statement issued here, she announced the AIADMK's candidates for the elections: Maitreyan, KR Arjunan, T Rathinavel, R Lakshmanan and S Saravanaperumal.

Interestingly there are two doctors in the AIADMK's list - Maitreyan and Lakshman.

The six members who will retire on July 24 are A. Elavarasan and Maitreyan from the AIADMK, Tiruchi N. Siva and Kanimozhi from the DMK, B.S. Gnanadesikan of the Congress and D. Raja of the CPI.

While the AIADMK has a strength of 151 (including the speaker) in the 235-member Tamil Nadu assembly, the DMDK has 29 legislators, the DMK 23, the Communists 18 and Congress 5.

A candidate needs 34 votes to get elected and AIADMK is expecting to romp home with five seats with the help of friendly parties and take its tally in the Rajya Sabha to eight from the current five seats.

Interestingly, six DMDK legislators have met Jayalalithaa and expressed support to her. Five of them functioned as a separate group when the assembly was in session and the sixth legislator joined their ranks last month.

Elections for the six Rajya Sabha seats that fall vacant this July in Tamil Nadu will be held June 27.