Congress retains six of the nine T.N. constituencies it contested in 2019, while three other seats Arani, Theni and Tiruchi have been replaced…
The Congress will
contest in the Tiruvallur (SC), Krishnagiri, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Karur, Siva- ganga, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Kanniya kumari and Puducherry Lok Sab- ha constituencies as part of the INDIA bloc led by the DMK.
An agreement to this ef- fect was signed between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai at the DMK headquarters in Chennai on Monday.
The Congress was allo- cated nine constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the lone constituency in Pu- ducherry. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, too, the Congress contested in nine plus one seats, and won in all but the Theni constituency, where form- er TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan lost to AIADMK candidate P. Ravindranath, son of expelled AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
As reported in The Hindu last week, the DMK has replaced three constituencies that were allotted to the Congress in 2019 Arani, Theni and Tiruchi with Cuddalore, Tirunelveli and Mayiladuthurai.
With DMK office-bear- ers in Arani reportedly un- happy over sitting Con- gress MP M.K. Vishnu Prasad and his family members being given pre- ference in the region for several years now, there had been a demand to field a DMK candidate this time around.
Fresh faces
In the Congress, too, there had been voices in favour of fielding fresh faces this time instead of veterans and family members of in- Ruential leaders.
While the DMK is enter- ing the fray in Theni, the party has allotted the Tiru- chi seat to the MDMK.
Former TNCC president K.S. Alagiri is likely to be fielded in Cuddalore and All India Professionals’ Congress chairman Pra- veen Chakravarthy is among the front-runners in Mayiladuthurai.