AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa today replaced 13 candidates for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. (File photo)
Highlights
- AIADMK sources say "negative feedback" triggered changes
- This is not the first time Ms Jayalalithaa has had a change of heart
- Earlier she withdrew list of 160 candidates as allies were not consulted
Forty-eight hours after she named them, AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa has
replaced 13 of her candidates for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assembly elections. Sources in the party say "negative feedback from cadre" had triggered the changes.
A case in point will be CV Elangovan, candidate for the Pallavaram constituency, who was replaced by party spokesperson CR Saraswathi.
Two years ago, Mr Elangovan, then head of the Pallavaram municipality, was caught on camera talking on his mobile phone while hoisting the national flag.
At the party office Adhi Moolam, an aspiring candidate for the Mana Madurai constituency, said Ms Jayalalithaa's action "will only improve the party's prospects" in elections. "If the earlier candidates were inefficient, the new ones will be better," he said.
Jeeva Rathnam, another AIADMK worker, has come with a petition seeking replacement of the party's nominee for the Tiruvotriyur constituency.
"Our candidate has many complaints against him, even an FIR. We are asking madam to change," she said.
This is not the first time Ms Jayalalithaa has had a change of heart. Last time she withdrew her list of 160 candidates, released without consulting allies.
Keeping their fingers crossed, many AIADMK candidates are not celebrating yet. Party workers, however, are happy that their voice is being heard.