AIADMK announces candidates list for Pondy

Pondicherry, Mar 27 (UNI) The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) today announced the list of candidates for the 16 seats the party will be contesting in the May 3 and 8 Assembly elections in the union territory.

While accomodating two sitting members A Kasilingam (Muthialpet) and A Anbazhagan (Ouppalam), the party also gave a ticket to sitting member A M Krishnamurty who quit the BJP and joined the AIADMK. He is being fielded from the Reddiyuarpalayam constituency.

Mr D Omalingam, was selected to contest from Kottucherry constituency which is presently vacant following the death of Congress member R Nalamaharajan.

Mr Omalingam who was selected as the candidate for the Puducherry Makkal Congress (PMC) to contest the Kottucherry constituency was allowed to join AIADMK for the polls since the seat went to the AIADMK under the seat sharing arrangement.

The party has also given a second chance to Mr K Natarajan who held the Uzhavarkarai seat from 1996 to 2001 and lost in the last election from the constituency to the TMC(M) candidate.

The rest are newcomers and the party, surprisingly, is contesting from the Mahe and Yanam regions of the union territory where it does not have a base.

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