As part of its mission to make its presence felt all over India, the AIADMK led by J Jayalalithaa on Monday announced that the party would field candidates in poll-bound Pudussery and Kerala.
While the AIADMK will contest all the 30 seats in Pudussery, the party has fielded seven candidates in neighbouring Kerala. The Pudussery AIADMK had been strengthened by the inclusion of P Kannan, former MP and a senior Congress leader in the union territory.
Jayalalithaa has released the names of all the AIADMK candidates who will be contesting from Pudussery and Kerala. Biju Ramesh, a leading liquor contractor and son of late Rameshan Contractor is the party's candidate from Thiruvananthapuram. Biju Ramesh was the businessman who played a crucial role in the resignation of KM Mani as the Finance Minister of Kerala in connection with the liquor licence pay off.
The AIADMK is contesting from six other constituencies in the districts of Palakkadu and Idukki where there is a considerable Tamil population. The party had opened its account in the local body election held in Kerala in 2015 by winning six seats in Palakkadu and Idukki districts. “Though the party had contested the 2011 assembly election, this time we have been enthused because of the results of the local body election,” Venugopal Srinivasan, treasurer of Kerala AIADMK, told The Pioneer.