The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu who had stitched an alliance with Saffron Party, BJP for the Upcoming General Elections has on Monday started his Candidate Selection Process for the Lok Sabha. AIADMK on Monday conducted interview rounds for its ticket aspirants of ten parliamentary seats of including Salem, Nilgiris and Coimbatore among others.
The ruling party also invited applications from aspiring candidates for the by-polls to 18 Assembly segments, which will be held along with the parliamentary polls. The filled-in forms and a fee of Rs 25,000 should be submitted on March 13 between 10 a.m and 6 p.m, party statement said.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, Satyabrata Sahoo on Sunday also announced dates for by-elections for 18 out 21 vacant seats in the state. As per the Poll Panel, Candidates can file nominations from March 19 and March 26, While The last date to withdraw nominations is March 29. The state will poll on April 18 to elect a parliamentarian while by-elections in 18 assembly seats are also slated to take place on same day.
General Elections are slated for April-May this year that would spread on Seven Phases starting from April 11 to May 19. Election Commission had on Sunday declared schedule for General Elections 2019. Results for the crucial Lok Sabha Polls will be announced on May 23 four days after the 7th phase of voting.
On Monday, the AIADMK Parliamentary Board comprising Tamil Nadu CM & Deputy CM and AIADMK leaders Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam conducted the interview of aspiring Lok Sabha candidates ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu CM & Deputy CM and AIADMK leaders Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam conduct interview of aspiring Lok Sabha candidates ahead of upcoming Lok Sabha polls pic.twitter.com/EnsIOZ76Ov
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019
READ: EC releases Dates for By-Elections to 18 Assembly Seats in Tamil Nadu; To be Clubbed With LS Polls
The AIADMK is leading a mega alliance in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK led alliance have – AIADMK, BJP, PMK, KMDK, Puthiya Neethi Katchi and NR Congress who will not only back it in general elections but also in by-elections. BJP has been offered 5 seats, DMDK been settled for 4 seats, while PMK gets 7 Lok Sabha seats and one each to Puthiya Tamizhagam and Puthiya Neethi Katchi in the state to field their candidates in the mega battle of ballots.
AIADMK thus leaving 21 seats of itself in the state.
Apart from General Elections 2019, By-elections are slated for 21 vacant assembly seats but the Poll body had on Sunday announced By-elections in 18 seats leaving 3 Assembly Seats – Ottapidaram, Aravakurichi and Tirupparamkundram as they are bound by litigation and is pending in the court.
Out of all 18 seats, the by-polls in 16 seats were necessitated after the disqualification of the sitting MLAs under the anti-defection law.
While in the other two seats, Tiruvarur seat has been necessitated by the death of sitting member and late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi while the Hosur seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Minister K Balakrishna Reddy after his conviction by a court in over a decades-old criminal case.
Rajnikanth had recently opted out of Lok Sabha Polls and by-elections of 21 seats of Tamil Nadu to focus on 2021 Tamil Nadu State Polls.
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