Jayalalithaa adds 12 new names to AIADMK candidate list

A day after changing her party candidate for Aruppukottai, AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday replaced 12 more nominees for the May 16 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Prominent among those who have got the ticket now are former minister S Semmalai, AIADMK Executive Committee member and Women's Wing Deputy Secretary C R Saraswathi, Madurai Mayor V V Rajan Chellappa and sitting MLA A Murugesan.

Semmalai, the party's Organisation Secretary, will now contest from Mettur where A Chandrasekaran was named as the nominee in the list of AIADMK candidates for 227 seats announced on April 4.

Saraswathi, who is the face the party in the TV media of late, has been fielded in Pallavaram in the city suburb, replacing C V Elangovan, a party release said.

Chellappa is the new AIADMK candidate for Madurai North constituency in place of M S Pandian.

Jayalalithaa also named O S Manian, former Lok Sabha member, as the new candidate in Vedaranyam.

Manian has also been made the District Secretary of party's Nagapattinam District unit in place of K A Jayapal, who was the in-charge of the unit.

Murugesan has been renominated to the Nagercoil seat in the place of V Dorothy Samson, party's Kanyakumari District Women's Wing secretary.

Other constituencies where the candidates have been changed include T Nagar, Kattumannarkoil (Reserved), Poompuhar, and Mannargudi in Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry, she announced new candidates for Tirubhuvanai (SC), Tirunallar and Karaikal south constituencies.

Jayalalithaa had yesterday announced that sitting MLA and former Minister Vaigaiselvan will be the nominee in Aruppukottai in place of M G Muthuraja.