DMK fields Mahesh and Austin in Kanniyakumari district

In a much anticipated announcement DMK has decided to contest in two legislative Assembly constituencies – Kanniyakumari and Nagercoil – in Kanniyakumari district for the upcoming Assembly elections.

DMK president and Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, on Saturday, announced R. Mahesh and S. Austin as the candidates for Kanniyakumari and Nagercoil Assembly constituencies, respectively.

R. Mahesh, the incumbent Mayor of Nagercoil Corporation, was the first to hold the post after Nagercoil municipality was upgraded to Corporation.

He has served as special government pleader (Forest Department), Kanniyakumari district from 1996 to 2001 and as government pleader of Kanniyakumari district from 2006 to 2009. He was also organiser of DMK’s Youth Wing, Kanniyakumari district from 2001 to 2013 and City Secretary of Nagercoil Municipality (now Corporation) since 2008. Currently he holds the positions of DMK’s District Secretary of Kanniyakumari East district and the Mayor of Nagercoil Corporation.

Meanwhile AIADMK has renominated its sitting MLA Thalavai Sundaram as Kanniyakumari constituency candidate and NTK has fielded Maria Jennifer Clara Michael as its candidate for the same seat. With Mr. Mahesh entering the fray as DMK candidate, the contest is expected to be tight, as the three candidates represent three different prominent communities in the constituency.

Nagercoil Assembly constituency’s DMK candidate S. Austin.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

For Nagercoil constituency S. Austin has been announced as DMK candidate. In the last Assembly elections he contested in Kanniyakumari constituency against Thalavai Sundaram of AIADMK and lost by a margin of 16,210 votes.

Mr. Austin served as Rajya Sabha MP on an AIADMK ticket from 1992 to 1998. But he switched over to MGR-ADMK and was elected as MLA from Nagercoil constituency from 2001 to 2006. But he rejoined the parent party only to quit and join the DMDK. He later joined DMK and was elected as MLA from Kanniyakumari assembly constituency from 2016 to 2021.

In the remaining four seats of the district allies of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Front will be contesting. Of these, three constituencies have been allotted for Indian National Congress (INC) and one has been allocated to CPI(M).

Colachel, Vilavancode and Killiyoor constituencies have been allotted to INC and Padmanabhapuram has been allocated to CPI(M).