BJP fields new faces in Pudukottai, Congress re-nominates MLA in Aranthangi (original) (raw)

All the three candidates fielded by the BJP in Pudukottai district will be making their electoral debut. The Congress has retained its MLA T. Ramachandran as its nominee for the Aranthangi Assembly constituency.

This is for the first time that the BJP – a major ally in the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance in Tamil Nadu – has been allotted three seats in Pudukottai district. The party has fielded N. Ramachandran for the Pudukottai constituency; C. Udhayakumar for the Gandharvakottai (SC) seat and Kavitha Srikanth for the Aranthangi constituency.

This is the maiden contest in an Assembly election for Mr. Ramachandran, 41, the BJP Pudukottai (West) district president and an engineering graduate. Although Mr. Ramachandran was born and raised in a traditional AIADMK family, his strong affinity for nationalism and admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi led him to join the BJP, said party circles.

The BJP’s public meeting organised in Pudukottai in January in which Home Minister Amit Shah participated shot Ramachandran into the limelight after Mr. Shah patted him on the stage.

Ms. Kavitha Srikanth, 48, the nominee for the Aranthangi constituency is the BJP’s State president of the Women’s Wing. An active party member since 1996, Ms. Kavitha held various positions in the BJP Tamil Nadu unit, including that of the State general secretary of the party’s Women’s Wing between June 2022 and July 2025.

According to party circles, she participated in the election campaigns in Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh; Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka ,gand in Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh besides being fully involved and actively participating in all the programmes and protests organised by the party.

Fifty-five- year-old C. Udhayakumar fielded in the Gandharvakottai (SC) constituency was the former panchayat president of Punalkulam in Pudukottai district. This is a maiden contest for both Ms. Kavitha and Mr. Udhayakumar in an Assembly election, said party circles.

The BJP nominees for Tiruvarur and Thanjavur assembly seats are Govi Chandru and M. Muruganandam respectively.

Third time

As far as the Congress is concerned, this is the third consecutive time since 2016 that T. Ramachandran will be contesting from the Aranthangi constituency in Pudukottai district. The son of former AIADMK Minister and senior Congress leader Su. Thirunavukkarasar, who had won multiple times from the Aranthangi earlier, Mr. Ramachandran was defeated in his maiden contest in 2016 elections but won in 2021 election defeating the AIADMK candidate.

M. Lenin Prasath, 37, is the Congress nominee for the Thuraiyur (SC) Assembly constituency in Tiruchi district. A resident of Mela Pandamangalam in Tiruchi, Mr. Prasath, an engineering graduate, is the national general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress. He had joined the party at the age of 18 and has held various positions in the Youth Congress in Tiruchi since then.

The Aranthangi seat will witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP, while in Gandharvakottai (SC) seat the contest is between the BJP and the CPI (M) and between the BJP and the DMK in Pudukottai constituency. The clash in Thuraiyur (SC) constituency is between the Congress and the AIADMK.

Published - April 03, 2026 06:50 pm IST