Ranipet, Apr 6:
In a significant development ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Vinoth Gandhi, son of Minister R. Gandhi, has withdrawn from contesting the Ranipet constituency, paving the way for his father to enter the race.
Vinoth Gandhi, who was initially announced as the DMK’s official candidate for Ranipet, made the announcement on Monday — the final day for filing nominations — via a social media post. He expressed his gratitude to DMK president M. K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for giving him the opportunity to contest. “Considering my father’s strong desire to contest once again, I have decided to respectfully step aside and return this opportunity to him,” Vinoth Gandhi said.
Vinoth Gandhi, who currently serves as the State Deputy Secretary of the DMK Environment Wing, thanked party cadres and supporters for their encouragement and reaffirmed his commitment to public service.
With this decision, Minister R. Gandhi is now set to contest from Ranipet, resolving the brief internal tussle over the candidature. Meanwhile, Ministers Mano Thangaraj and Kayalvizhi Selvaraj have not been fielded in the upcoming elections.