Only two new faces in AIADMK’s second list of candidates for constituencies in Coimbatore-Tiruppur belt

Barring Valparai and Dharapuram Assembly segments, both reserved constituencies, the AIADMK has, in its second list released on Friday, fielded known faces, including four former Ministers, in the constituencies in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts.

The party has fielded a new candidate, D. Lakshmana Singh, to the slot that was represented by the deceased MLA Amul Kandasamy in Valparai, and P. Sathyabama, Tiruppur Rural East District Joint Secretary, in the Dharapuram constituency, which is represented by DMK’s N. Kayalvizhi, Minister for Human Resources Management. The MLA had defeated BJP candidate L. Murugan, currently Union Minister, in the 2021 polls by a narrow margin of 1,393 votes (0.7%).

In Kangayam constituency, the AIADMK has fielded former MLA N.S.N. Nataraj, who was elected to the Assembly in the 2011 polls. In the 2021 election, AIADMK candidate A.S. Ramalingam had lost to DMK’s M.P. Saminathan, Minister for Information and Publicity by a low margin of 7,331 votes.

In Mettupalayam, the sitting MLA A.K. Selvaraj has been replaced with former MLA O.K. Chinnaraj who had won consecutively in the 2016, 2011 and 2006 elections.

In Tiruppur North where the sitting AIADMK MLA K.N. Vijayakumar had won in the 2016 and 2021 polls, former MLA and Minister M.S.M. Anandan who had won in the 2011 polls, and represented Palladam segment in the 2021 polls has been given an opportunity to contest in the 2026 election.

In Palladam, K.P. Paramasivam is a former MLA who had won from the constituency in 2011 polls, and in Sulur constituency, sitting MLA V.P. Kandasamy had won in the 2019 by-polls also. Sitting MLA P.R.G. Arunkumar is the candidate for the Kavundampalayam segment.

Coimbatore South constituency represented by BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan has been allotted to former AIADMK MLA Amman K. Arjunan. In Singanallur, sitting MLA K.R. Jayaram has been fielded by the AIADMK.

In Kinathukadavu, the candidate S. Damodaran, sitting MLA and former Minister, was elected from the constituency in the 2001, 2006 and 2011 elections.

Pollachi V. Jayaraman, sitting MLA and former Minister who had won from the Pollachi segment in the 2016, 2006 and 2001 elections, is the candidate for 2026 polls.

Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan, also sitting MLA and former Minister, had represented the segment in the previous term also.