Stepping up its preparations for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the Opposition AIADMK on Friday released its second list of candidates, naming candidates for 127 constituencies. The party has
retained several sitting MLAs and senior leaders.
The list includes a number of former ministers and prominent party functionaries, signalling the party’s attempt to balance experience with continuity as it heads into the April 23 single-phase polls.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami announced the names, which include the Tirunelveli Assembly constituency, currently held by BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, who had won the seat in the 2021 election. For Tirunelveli, the AIADMK has fielded senior party member Thanjai N Ganesaraja.
AIADMK has released its second list of candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections pic.twitter.com/LM2SHn8aVT
— IANS (@ians_india) March 27, 2026
Nagenthran had said that he would contest from the Sattur constituency in Virudhunagar district in the forthcoming election.
Among the key figures in the AIADMK’s second list is former state minister B V Ramana, who has been nominated from Tiruvallur. Another former minister and sitting MLA, Pollachi V Jayaraman, has been renominated from Pollachi. Party legislator Maragadam Kumaravel will once again contest from Maduranthakam.
The AIADMK, which leads the National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu, is contesting 169 of the state’s 234 Assembly seats. It had earlier released a first list naming candidates for 23 constituencies, including Palaniswami himself.
With Friday’s announcement, the party has so far declared candidates for 150 constituencies. The remaining seats are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Besides the AIADMK, other constituents of the NDA in Tamil Nadu include the BJP, PMK and AMMK. Single-phase elections to all 234 Assembly segments in the state will be held on April 23.
