Polling in Tamil Nadu
A total of 845 candidates are in the fray for the four-cornered April 18 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, following withdrawal of nominations on Friday. Further, 269 candidates are contesting the bypolls to 18 Assembly seats, which will also be held simultaneously
The final list of candidates was released by Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo Friday. As many as 92 candidates withdrew from the electoral race for the Lok Sabha polls, leaving 845 in the fray.
A total of 1576 nominations were received, with 937 of them being found valid, according to the final list. Of the 845 candidates, 779 were men, while 65 were women. One person from the Third Gender also had filed nomination.
Karur topped the list with 42 candidates while the reserved Nilgiris constituency had just 10 contenders.
Tamil Nadu, which has 39 Lok Sabha seats, is going to the polls on April 18.
The AIADMK-led National Democractic Alliance (NDA), DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam floated by T T V Dhinakaran are the main contenders.
Bypolls would be held in the 18 constituencies of Poonamallee, Perambur, Tiruporur, Sholinghur, Gudiyatham, Ambur, Hosur, Pappireddipapatti, Harur, Nilakkottai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Manamadurai, Andipatti, Periyakulam, Sattur, Paramakudi and Vilathikulam.
Of the 18 seats, 16 had fallen vacant following the disqualification of ruling AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to Dhinakaran.
The bypoll to Tiruvarur seat has been necessitated by the death of sitting member and late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi while the Hosur seat fell vacant following the disqualification of minister K Balakrishna Reddy after his conviction by a court in over a decades-old criminal case.
The bypolls are considered crucial as it would have a bearing on the stability of the AIADMK government which needs to win a sizeable number of them to retain its majority in the 234-member House.
(With PTI Inputs)
