EC releases final list of candidates, 4,218 to contest in TN, 393 in city
The ECI released the final list of candidates following scrutiny and accepting the withdrawal of 296 nominations on Monday. As many as 4,218 candidates will fight the 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu on April 6, according to the release.
As per ECI officials, Karur Assembly seat will have the maximum number of 84 contestants and Valparai constituency, sandwiched between the Anamalai Tiger reserve and Pollachi, will have just 6 candidates vying for the post of MLA.
The high-profile seats of Edappadi where Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will be contesting will have 28 contestants. In Kolathur, where the DMK chief Stalin, 36 candidates would be in the fray.
In Chennai, a total of 393 candidates will contest polls from the 16 assembly constituencies. Apart from Kolathur, RK Nagar and Saidapet constituency have 31 and 30 candidates respectively. As many as 87 women are contesting in Chennai with Egmore having the highest number of 10 candidates. One transgender candidate will be contesting in Mylapore.
A total of 634 nominations were filed for the 16 constituencies. Close to 250 nominations were filed on the last day alone. “Several nominees filed more than one nomination as the rules allow four nominations from each candidate. Also, there were substitute candidates. After the scrutiny, repeat nominations would be rejected. The actual number of candidates is lesser than the total nominations filed,” an EC official said. The official added that the symbols for independent candidates will be allocated in a few days.
VCK gets pot symbol
The ECI had allotted the pot symbol for the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party contested in the same symbol and their request to retain it was accepted by the ECI, the official said.
