AIADMK general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa surprised her electoral allies CPI and the CPI(M) on Monday by declaring names of 40 candidates from her party who will contest in the upcoming lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Jayalalithaa, who celebrated her 66th birthday on Monday, released the names of AIADMK candidates at the party headquarters in Chennai. Though she has entered into an agreement with the CPI and the CPI(M) for contesting the lok Sabha elections together, modalities like the number of seats and the constituencies to be contested by the left parties are yet to be worked out.
The left leaders, who were left clueless following the announcement by Jayalalithaa, could breathe again only after she stated that they would be allocated seats due to them. “Once the details like the number of seats to be contested by the left parties and the constituencies from where they would contest are finalised, the AIADMK candidates from the respective constituencies would be withdrawn in their favour,” Jayalalithaa told reporters at the party headquarters.
Though no announcement has been made about the number of constituencies to be allocated to the left parties, sources in the AIADMK told The Pioneer that the CPI and the CPI(M) may be given two seats each. Jayalalithaa has been exhorting her party cadre since her return to power in May 2011 to work for a clean sweep in the lok Sabha elections. “We should win all the 40 seats from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The AIADMK could play a crucial role in the formation of the next Government at the Centre only if we win all the 40 seats at stake,” Jayalalithaa has been telling party cadre.
Jayalalithaa has retained only three of the nine AIADMK members from the outgoing lok Sabha for the next elections. Dr P Venugopal, Dr M Tampi Durai and P Kumar are the three members who have been retained. The list for the 2014 election includes three women and many young faces.
Speaking to reporters after the release of the names of party candidates, Jayalalithaa said her slogan for the 2014 lok Sabha election would be peace, prosperity and progress. This is in contrast to the slogan by the CPI and the CPI(M) that their mission was to form a non-BJP secular Government at the Centre.
Mahendran, assistant secretary, CPI (Tamil Nadu,) said he was not surprised by the announcement made by Jayalalithaa. “Each party and leader has his/her style of approach. Jayalalithaa has told that talks were going on between her party and the left parties. In 2009 too she had done like this only,” he said.