The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Saturday unveiled its 164-member candidate list with a mix of continuity and calculated change, deploying senior leader V Senthil Balaji to the electorally hostile Coimbatore South, dropping three sitting ministers, and fielding candidates from two families in multiple seats. This comes even as it retained incumbent MLAs in constituencies rumoured to be picked for Vijay — signalling a leadership keen to refresh its ranks without appearing rattled.
The major highlight of the DMK’s candidate list was its decision on western Tamil Nadu — where the DMK and its allies drew a blank in all ten seats in Coimbatore in 2021. The party has deployed its most aggressive political organiser, V Senthil Balaji, seen as the party’s field general in the region and one who was arrested by Central agencies, spent 471 days in prison, and lost his Cabinet portfolio.
Balaji has shifted from his bastion, Karur, to Coimbatore South, taking on what is effectively the toughest assignment on the board — a direct contest in a BJP–AIADMK stronghold.
Besides taking up the task of winning all 10 seats, including his own, Balaji is also overseeing roughly 35 seats across the western belt, where the ruling regime will be fighting the BJP–AIADMK combine. For Balaji, it is less a candidature and more a campaign command. A senior DMK minister said: “In Coimbatore, where the party once had no scoreboard at all, we are sending our most reliable match-winner — not to play safe, but to change the game.”
The rest of the list suggests a party attempting something more complex than routine ticket distribution. Chief Minister M K Stalin will contest again from Kolathur, a seat he has held since its creation post-delimitation, while Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin returns to Chepauk–Thiruvallikeni. Around them, the familiar core remains intact: senior ministers such as Durai Murugan, K N Nehru, E V Velu, M R K Panneerselvam, and Thangam Thennarasu have retained their constituencies, forming the party’s institutional backbone.
But the list also marks departures — some expected, some telling. Three sitting ministers — R Gandhi, T Mano Thangaraj, and N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj — have been dropped. Former minister K Ponmudy has also been denied a ticket.
Yet, in classic Dravidian fashion, absence does not always mean exit. In both Ponmudy’s and Gandhi’s cases, the seats have been handed to their sons — Dr. Gautham Sigamani in Tirukoilur and Vinoth Gandhi in Ranipet — making this less a purge and more a managed transition.
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On paper, it is a renewal exercise too. The DMK has fielded 60 first-time candidates out of its 164 nominees, nearly a third of its slate. Many come from the party’s lower organisational tiers — union secretaries, district functionaries, and grassroots workers — signalling a deliberate attempt to elevate cadre-based leadership.
The professional mix is also unusually pronounced: 29 lawyers, 17 engineers, 15 doctors, and 7 PhD holders. In Avinashi reserved constituency, the party has fielded a 26-year-old doctor against Union Minister L Murugan, turning what might have been a routine contest into a generational statement. And yet, the transformation is partial. And 18 women have been fielded, a number that quietly undercuts the party’s broader social messaging.
The alliance arithmetic, meanwhile, is expansive but carefully controlled. The DMK will contest 164 seats, while distributing the rest among a wide coalition: Congress (28), DMDK (10), VCK (8), CPI and CPM (5 each), MDMK (4), IUML and MMK (2 each), along with smaller partners. In total, 11 allies will contest under the Rising Sun symbol, reinforcing the DMK’s preference for a unified visual identity.
There is generosity here, but also calculation. Seats like Palani and Kanyakumari, considered relatively strong, have been ceded to the CP-M — a sign of confidence that allies will deliver. A senior DMK leader said the CP-M, among all allies, may be having a near-perfect strike rate. “They could win all five, almost 100% strike rate.”
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The list also accommodates new political entrants. Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who recently joined the DMK, will contest from Bodinayakanur, while his associates Manoj Pandian and R Vaithilingam have been fielded from Alangulam and Orathanadu. Even former AIADMK minister P Palaniappan finds a place in Pappireddipatti, reflecting the DMK’s willingness to absorb and redeploy political capital from across the aisle.
And then there are the battles that have not been avoided. In constituencies like Perambur and Tiruchirappalli (East), widely speculated to be seats for actor Vijay, the DMK has retained its sitting MLAs. The message is understated but clear: no defensive reshuffling.
Tamilan Prasanna, a familiar face defending the DMK on television debates, has been fielded from Egmore. The dynastic element, often criticised, is present but uneven. Apart from the Stalin family — with both Stalin and Udhayanidhi in the fray — and the Premalatha Vijayakanth–Vijaya Prabhakaran combination within the alliance, these are among the only two instances where two members of the same family have been given seats.