Thambidurai and others listed as AIADMK's candidates for LS Polls

Sitting MPs, including Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, and former Ministers featured in the ruling AIADMK's list of 20 candidates for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections announced Sunday. Thambidurai will seek re-election from Karur, while P Venugopal, and J Jeyavardhan, MPs from Tiruvallur (SC) and South Chennai respectively, will contest again from the same constituencies.

P Ravindranathkumar, son of Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, will contest from Theni constituency. Similarly, C Mahendran, sitting MP from Pollachi, an AIADMK stronghold for the past over four decades, will fight again from the same seat.

The ruling party which had allotted 19 other seats in Tamil Nadu to its allies released its list of candidates after deliberations at party headquarters late Sunday night. The discussions were led by Panneerselvam, AIADMK coordinator, and party co-coordinator and Chief Minister K Palaniswami among others.

Panneerselvam's lieutenant and senior leader, K P Munsamy, a former Minister and party deputy coordinator will contest from Krishnagiri. Agri SS Krishnamurthi, and M S M Anandan, both former Ministers will fight from Tiruvannamalai and Tirupur constituencies.

Also, N R Sivapathi, a former Minister has been fielded from Perambalur and former MP and party's Organising Secretary P H Manoj Pandian will contest from Tirunelveli. S Asaimani (Mayiladuthurai), Po Chandrasekar (Chidambaram-SC) are among the other candidates. The party also released its list of 18 candidates for the bypolls to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls.

The PMK, an ally of the AIADMK, also released its list for five of the seven Lok Sabha seats allotted to it, fielding Anbumani Ramadoss from Dharmapuri again. Former Union Minister A K Moorthy will contest from Arakkonam.