VijayaKanth out with candidates list

NT Bureau | Thu, 26 Mar, 2009,03:12 PM
.
After being the first to kickstart the election campaign, actor-politician and DMDK president Vijayakanth took the lead in releasing the first list of candidates for the 13 May Lok Sabha elections.
.
At a time when last ditch efforts are on by the Congress to rope the party into the DMK-led DPA, the release of candidates and constituency list (some places where Congress will be contesting) makes it explicitly clear that his party would go it alone in its maiden foray in the Lok Sabha polls.

Vijayakanth, who kickstarted his campaign trail on 22 March from Kancheepuarm had already hinted that he would go it alone in the ensuing polls, saying his alliance was only with the ‘God’ and the ‘people’.

However, he had said he would reveal his party’s stand while re-launching his campaign from the southern tip of Kanniyakumari today.

Hours before re-commencing his electioneering, Vijayakanth who had conducted interviews with the aspiring candidates over the last three days, today announced the first list of nine candidates for the elections.

K Pandiarajan, founder of Ma Foi Management Consultants limited, a public limited HR Consulting company, figure among the first list. He would test the election waters from the Virudhunagar Parliamentary constituency.

DMDK Deputy General Secretary and former AIADMK Rajya Sabha Member S Austin, who had quit the party and joined the DMDK when it was founded in 2005, was nominated from Kanniyakumari.

Following is the first list of candidates

P Muthuvelraj (Dindugul), S Austin (Kanniyakumari), S Michael Royappan (Tirunelveli), Ma Foi K Pandiarajan (Virudhunagar), ‘Azhagapuram’ R Mohanraj (Salem), A M G Vijayakumar (Trichy), R M Muthulakshmi (Madurai), M C Santhanam (Theni) and N Mageshwaran (Namakkal).
(Photos on Page 7)

Lashes out at MK

Vijayakanth condemned Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for demeaning the sentiments of others in the Lankan issue. Addressing media persons at Chennai airport before leaving to Kaniyakumari today, the DMDK leader said by making callous and needless remarks on others over the Lankan Tamil issue, he is demaning their intentions.

It may be recalled that Karunanidhi, taking a dig at PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss, said yesterday, ‘Let their supporters make a clandestine visit to Sri Lanka. We, who are charged as cowards, will enjoy their victory. Let them also take AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa to head their march, who will definitely win and arrest Rajapakse and bring him to India’.

‘I am not for 3 or 4 seats’

Putting rest to speculation that he would join the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamilnadu, Vijayakanth today said in Kanyakumari that he was not running the party for three or four seats.

He was apparently referring to the reported offer of some seats by the Congress to rope in the DMDK into the alliance led by DMK in the State.

‘If I wanted to have an alliance, I would have settled for three or four seats,’ the 57-year old actor said. The DMDK had polled eight per cent votes in the 2007 Assembly elections even though Vijayakanth was the lone winner of his party.

With the PMK joining the rival AIADMK-led front, the DMK-Congress combine would contest the 39 Lok Sabha seats with smaller allies like the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.Vijayakanth lashed out at the UPA Government, accusing it of not doing any thing to save the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Source:newstodaynet.com