Congress Picks R. Sudha As Surprise Candidate For Mayiladuthurai Constituency

After much discussion, R. Sudha has been chosen as the Congress candidate for the Mayiladuthurai constituency. This decision came as a surprise since two other candidates were also in the running. The Congress party recently announced its candidates for seven constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

Among them are former IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil for Thiruvallur, K. Gobinath for Krishnagiri, Jyothimani for Karur, Dr M K Vishnu Prasad for Kallakurchi, Karthi Chidambram for Sivaganga, Manickam Tagore for Virudhunagar, and Vijay Vasanth for Kanyakumari. Additionally, Robert Bruce was named the candidate for Nellikuppam constituency, and Dr. Tharagai for the Vilavankodu legislative by-election.

The announcement of the Mayiladuthurai candidate was delayed due to some challenges. It is believed that the DMK did not support the initially proposed candidate. Rahul Gandhi insisted on announcing candidates only after receiving full approval from DMK. The party initially wanted to nominate Praveen Chakravarthy, who is close to Rahul Gandhi, but had to reconsider due to strong opposition from DMK and concerns about his outsider status in Mayiladuthurai. Naseem Ramachandran was a preferred choice but lacked local support.

Ultimately, R. Sudha was declared the Congress candidate for Mayiladuthurai after a significant delay. This delay put pressure on DMK as well, especially since DMK ministers and the Chief Minister had already begun campaigning across constituencies. They were urging voters to support Congress candidates by voting for the hand symbol, despite no official announcements being made at that time. With the nomination deadline approaching, this created a sense of urgency within DMK and led to questions from party workers. Finally, under pressure from DMK and to ensure timely campaigning, Congress announced its candidate for Mayiladuthurai just before midnight.