The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK today announced its 21 candidates for the Lok Sabha election. Tamil Nadu Chief minister MK Stalin also unveiled the party manifesto for the election and hit out at the BJP alleging that the party had destroyed India.
"It is not only a DMK manifesto but the people's manifesto. When the BJP came to power in 2014, they destroyed India. None of the election promises were fulfilled. We have formed the INDIA Alliance, and we will form our government in 2024. In our manifesto, we have announced special schemes for Tamil Nadu and schemes for every district are given in this manifesto" MK Stalin said.
"It is DMK that makes the manifesto before elections and continues to do what we say; this is what our leaders taught us. As Kanimozhi said, we went all over the state and listened to various people" MK Stalin added
In its election manifesto the DMK hit out at the Governor's office saying that till the office of Governor is abolished, a Governor to the State should be appointed in consultation with the Chief Minister of the State.
The Manifesto also said that Article 361 which provides immunity from criminal proceedings to Governors will be amended. Additionally, the DMK said that Thirukural will be made as 'National Book' while National Education Policy and NEET will not be implemented in Tamil Nadu.
The Manifesto also said that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will not be implemented in the state.
The DMK also released its first list of 21 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, including 12 new candidates, with Kanimozhi contesting from Thoothukudi.
The party has decided to field Kalanidhi Veerasami from North Chennai, Tamilachi Thangapandian from South Chennai, Dayanidhi Maaran from Central Chennai, TR Balu from Sriperumbatur, Jagathrachahan from Arakonam and Kandhir from Vellore.
Annadurai will contest from Thiruvanamalai, Dharani from Aarani, and Selvagapathi from Selam, Prakash from Erode, A Raja from Nilgiris, Ganapathi Rajkumar from Kovai, and Arun Neru from Perambalur; Murasoli from Tanjore; Thanga Tamil Selvam from Theni; Kanimozhi from Thuthukudi; Rani from Thenkasi; and Malaiarasan from Kallakurichi.
Eeswarasamy will contest from Pollachi, Ganapathy Rajkumar from Coimbatore and Thangathamizchelvan from Theni.
The DMK is fighting in alliance with the Congress which will contest 9 seats in Tamil Nadu. Its other allies are VCK, CPM, CPI which will contest two seats each. IUML, KMDK, MDMK will contest on one seat each.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the DMK-led alliance secured a landslide victory by bagging 38 out of 39 seats. The Congress, which was also a part of the alliance, bagged 8 seats out of the nine contested.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK also released its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on Wednesday. The list was released by the party general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Tamil Nadu is voting on April 19 in a single phase of polling. The Election Commission of India issued a notification on Wednesday for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 to be conducted on April 19.
In the notification, the Election Commission of India informed that March 28 will be the last date for filing nominations for Bihar and March 27 for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
Polling for the Lok Sabha elections will be conducted in seven phases across the nation from April 19 to June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.
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