Less than 24 hours before the expiry of the deadline for filing of nominations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Indian National Congress on Tuesday night surprised everyone by announcing that State Mahila Congress president, Sudha Ramakrishnan, will be fielded as candidate for the Mayiladuthurai constituency. March 27 is the last date for filing of nominations.
A number of Congress leaders were competing to bag the Mayiladuthurai seat including the All India Professionals’ Congress chairman, Praveen Chakravarthy, veteran Congress leader, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Naesey Ramachandran and A. Chellakumar (incumbent M.P. from Krishnagiri). Ms. Sudha, till her name was declared, did not feature in the list of probable candidates.
Though the chances of Mr. Chakravarthy bagging the seat were considered slim, the names of Mr. Aiyer and Mr. Ramachandran were doing the rounds. The party eventually settled for a candidate from the Vanniyar community.
Senior Congress leaders say while Ms. Sudha had been seeking a ticket and her chances were considered remote, she is believed to be a good pick by the Congress high command.
Ms. Sudha, who hails from a family of Congress supporters in Gummidipoondi, is known for her ideological commitment towards the party. She had walked the entire duration of Bharat Jodo Yatra – from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir – along with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai, Tiruchi Velusamy, K.V. Thangkabalu and few others met Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan to seek his support and campaign for the party’s candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday morning, State HR and CE Minister Sekar Babu met Mr. Selvaperunthagai at Sathyamurthy Bhavan along with DMK’s Chennai North and Chennai Central candidates -Kalanidhi Veeraswamy and Dayanidhi Maran.
