Chennai: After 23 May, whichever alliance, be it the one led by the ruling AIADMK or the other headed by the DMK, emerges victorious in the Lok Sabha polls in Tamilnadu, its leadership will be in for happiness as well as headache.
For, more than half the candidates who contested the 18 April elections from both camps are apparently toying with the ambition of becoming a Minister in the new government at the Centre.
A rough estimate by News Today shows 42 contestants (20 in AIADMK alliance and 22 in DMK front) might aspire for a berth in the Union government.
In the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Jayavardhan (South Chennai), M Thambidurai (Karur), K P Munusamy (Krishnagiri), V V R Raj Sathyan (Madurai), N R Sivapathy (Perambalur), P Raveendranath Kumar (Theni), P Venugopal (Tiruvallur), Manoj Pandian (Tirunelveli), M S M Anandan (Tirupur) and Agri S S Krishnamurthy (Tiruvannamalai) may seek a place in the Union Cabinet.
Jayavardhan, the sitting MP of South Chennai, is the son of AIADMK leader and State Minister D Jayakumar; Thambidurai is the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a party veteran; Munusamy is a senior in the party and a former minister; Raj Sathyan is the head of AIADMK’s IT wing and son of Madurai strongman Rajan Chellappa; Sivapathy is a former State minister; Raveendranath Kumar is son of AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam; Venugopal is AIADMK’s Parliamentary Party leader; Manoj Pandian is a former MP and son of veteran Speaker P H Pandian, while Anandan and Krishnamurthy are former ministers.
In the PMK, which fought the polls in the AIADMK alliance, former Union Health minister Anbumani Ramadoss (Dharmapuri), former Railway Minister of State A K Moorthy (Arakkonam) and entrepreneur Sam Paul (Central Chennai) are likely to expect ministerial posts.
L K Sudhish of the DMDK (Kallakurichi) and Dr Krishnasamy of Puthiya Tamilagam (Tenkasi) may also ask for berths in the Cabinet, all five contestants of the BJP in Tamilnadu – Pon Radhakrishnan (Kanyakumari), C P Radhakrishnan (Coimbatore), Tamilisai Soundararajan (Thoothukudi), H Raja (Sivaganga) and Nainar Nagendran (Ramanathapuram) – appear to be contenders for ministerial posts.
Coming to the DMK front, former Union ministers S Jagathrakshakan (Arakkonam), Dayanidhi Maran (Central Chennai), A Raja (Nilgiris), T R Baalu (Sriperumbudur) and S S Palanimanickam (Thanjavur), DMK senior Arcot Veerasamy’s son Kalanidhi (North Chennai), former State minister Thangapandian’s daughter Thamizhachi (South Chennai), party senior Ponmudy’s son Gauthama Sigamani (Kallakurichi) and DMK’s late supremo M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi) may look for Cabinet berths.
From the Congress, former MLA M K Vishnu Prasad (Arani), son of party veteran M Krishnasamy, entrepreneur H Vasanthakumar, who contested the LS polls (Kanyakumari) despite being an MLA, Jothimani (Karur), Dr A Chellakumar (Krishnagiri), Karti Chidambaram (Sivaganga), E V K S Elangovan (Theni), K Jayakumar (Tiruvallur), S Thirunavukkarasar (Trichy), Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar) and Vaithilingam (Puducherry) may contest for ministerial posts.
MDMK’s A Ganeshamurthi (Erode), VCK’s Thol Thirumavalavan (Chidambaram) and T R Paarivendar of IJK (Perambalur) may also expect berths.
| TOP CONTENDERS |
| AIADMK alliance |
| * Thambidurai * P Raveendranath Kumar * K P Munusamy * Anbumani Ramadoss * Pon Radhakrishnan |
| DMK front |
| * Dayanidhi Maran * T R Baalu * A Raja * Kanimozhi * Thirunavukkarasar |