Chennai:
The DMK has gone public with the names of its 119 candidates for the Tamil Nadu elections on April 13.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi will stand from Tiruvarur, the district where he comes from; he will launch his campaign on Wednesday. His son, MK Stalin, will contest from Kolathur.
The DMK has won five out of nine elections in Thiravur since 1971. This is the first time since 1962 that the DMK president will not contest the elections from Chennai. In the past, he has stood from Chepauk, Saidapet, Anna Nagar and Harbour - all constituencies within Chennai.
The DMK has allotted eleven seats for women candidates.
The DMK is contesting its fewest seats ever for the 234-member Assembly largely because of the demands for seats by its ally, the Congress, as well as smaller regional partners. Worried about the impact of the 2G scam on urban voters, the DMK has given five seats in its bastion of Chennai to the Congress. The scam saw DMK leader A Raja resign as Telecom minister in November; he was arrested in February.
More than 19,000 people applied for DMK tickets. Mr Karunanidhi and other senior DMK leaders held extensive interviews at the party headquarters in Chennai to shortlist candidates.
The DMK plans to meet with its allies tomorrow, and is expected to release its manifesto on Saturday.