With Tamil Nadu poised for a five-cornered Assembly election, AIADMK co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, DMK president and Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin, other prominent leaders and several Ministers filed their nomination papers before the Returning Officers of their respective constituencies on Monday.
Mr. Palaniswami, the Chief Ministerial candidate of the ruling party, filed his nomination in the Edappadi constituency in Salem, from where he made his electoral debut in 1989. He has since represented the constituency thrice — 1991, 2011 and 2016.
Mr. Stalin, who also entered the Assembly for the first time in 1989 from the Thousand Lights constituency, submitted his nomination papers before the Returning Officer of the Kolathur constituency, from where he was elected in 2011 and 2016. After filing his nomination, he headed to Tiruvarur, which elected his father and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, and commenced electioneering. He had begun his most recent Parliamentary election campaign, too, from there.
MNM founder Kamal Haasan, who is making his electoral debut, filed his nomination in the Coimbatore South constituency, where he will face BJP and Congress candidates. His allies — the AISMK and the IJK — are contesting 40 seats each.
AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who has allotted 60 seats to the DMDK and counts the AIMIM and the SDPI among his allies, filed his nomination in the Kovilpatti Assembly constituency, where he will take on Information Minister Kadambur C. Raju.
NTK founder Seeman, the only leader in Tamil Nadu to have distributed seats equally among male and female candidates, filed his nomination for the Tiruvottiyur constituency. Many Ministers and prominent second-line leaders of various parties also filed their nominations on Monday.
