The suspense over the Congress’s candidates for the Mayiladuthurai and Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seats continued on Sunday, with several names reportedly being considered by the party’s high command.
Sources in the party said that Mayiladuthurai was likely to get a candidate from the Vanniyar community as they form a sizeable majority in the region. The party may also consider an OBC candidate. “M.K. Vishnu Prasad, the brother-in-law of PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, was initially being considered for this seat. However, he has been nominated as the candidate for Cuddalore constituency...,” a source said.
‘Naesey’ J. Ramachandran was one of the candidates who was previously considered for Cuddalore. “He is also in the running for Mayiladuthurai, along with A. Chellakumar, the sitting MP of Krishnagiri,” another source said.
In Krishnagiri, Mr. Chellakumar, who reportedly does not have a cordial relationship with the DMK, has been replaced by Congress leader K. Gopinath, a three-time legislator from the Hosur Assembly constituency.
Sources from the DMK and the Congress said that All India Professionals’ Congress chairman Praveen Chakravarthy, who was reportedly seeking a seat from South Chennai and, later, a ticket from Mayiladuthurai, is unlikely to be fielded. However, he continues to be hopeful.
In Tirunelveli, the local District Congress Committee president S. Paul Raj is in the running and is likely to be picked while Robert Bruce, a Congressman from Kanniyakumari, is also in the fight for the nomination, say sources.
