Actor-turned-politician Vijay on Sunday announced that his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Puducherry independently, fielding candidates in all 30 constituencies. The announcement was made along with the release of the party's full list of candidates for all seats in the 30-member Assembly. Polling in the Union Territory is scheduled for April 9, with the counting of votes to take place on May 4.
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According to the list released by the party, candidates have been fielded across all regions of the Union Territory. The nominees include a mix of former members of established political parties such as the BJP, AIADMK and Congress, along with new entrants and local leaders.
Among the prominent nominees, A.K. Sai J. Saravanan Kumar, who stepped down from the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday, has been named as the candidate from the Thirubhuvanai (reserved) constituency. His resignation came after he was denied a ticket to recontest from the Oussudu (reserved) seat.
V. Saminathan, who earlier served as the Puducherry unit chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been fielded from the Lawspet constituency. The list of candidates also features former Deputy Inspector General of Police V.J. Chandran and former Congress MLA N. Dhanavelou
The party has also nominated former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MLAs K.A.U. Asana and L. Periyasamy from Karaikal (South) and Nettapakkam (reserved) constituencies, respectively.
With this announcement, TVK has decided not to enter into any alliance for the Puducherry polls. In the Union Territory, elections are usually contested through alliances, with major parties joining hands to form governments.
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At present, Puducherry is governed by the All India N.R. Congress in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party which released its first list of nine candidates on March 21. Separately, TVK has also announced that it will contest the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections independently, dismissing speculation about talks with the BJP and the AIADMK.
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