DMK youth wing secretary Udhyanidhi Stalin may not enter the fray in the Assembly election as his father and party president M.K. Stalin is believed to be against the idea now.
Mr. Udhayanidhi, an actor-politician, sought a party ticket to contest from the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni Assembly constituency in Chennai, the smallest constituency, in the State. He also submitted his application and attended the interview on Saturday.
“When he appeared for interview before the panellists, Mr. Stalin, who was present there, wondered why he had come for the interview since he had already been advised not to contest in the election,” a senior DMK source said.
Mr Stalin could take a final decision keeping in mind that sons of second line leaders such as K.N. Nehru, E.V. Velu and M.R.K. Panneerselvam have also sought tickets to contest this time.
While other panelists came out in support of Mr. Udhayanidhi, Mr. Stalin put his foot down saying that he could not be given the ticket.
Party leaders said Mr. Stalin was not ready to play into the hands of his critics, who have been accusing him of promoting his son in the party.
“The time factor also plays against Mr. Udhyanidhi. Of late, he has emerged as a star campaigner. He has to campaign for the DMK alliance all over the State and he will be left with very little time for himself in the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency. He needs to spend more time as actor Kushboo is being fielded by the BJP there, converting it into a high-profile battle,” party sources said.
There is a possibility that he could be given an electoral opportunity in the future.
