The Hindu : Front Page : Balaganga AIADMK candidate for Rajya Sabha election

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Thursday, Mar 13, 2008
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Balaganga AIADMK candidate for Rajya Sabha election

R.K. Radhakrishnan

DMK nominees file papers; Congress yet to announce names

AIADMK candidate for Rajya Sabha election N. Balaganga with party general secretary Jayalalithaa at her residence in Chennai on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday ensured that there will be a contest in the forthcoming Rajya Sabha polls by announcing its intention to contest a seat and asking its ally, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, to contest the other.

There are six vacancies from the State to the Upper House and the DMK combine has already said that it will put up five candidates. DMK nominees A.A.Jinnah and Vasanthi Stanley filed their nominations on Wednesday. While one seat will be contested by T.K.Rengarajan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Congress will contest the other two.

The Congress is yet to announce its candidates. A meeting of the party’s MLAs, chaired by D. Sudarshan, Leader of the Congress in the Assembly, decided to support candidates endorsed by the party high command. “It is our duty to support any candidate announced by Soniaji [Congress president Sonia Gandhi],” he said.

Asked about the changed situation with the AIADMK combine deciding to field two candidates, he said that this was not a problem. “The arithmetic favours us,” he said.

An AIADMK press release said party general secretary Jayalalithaa nominated an election wing functionary of the party, N. Balaganga, to contest the elections, who filed his nomination.

The MDMK nominee will be decided after the party executive meets in the city on Thursday, a party spokesperson said.

Each candidate needs 34 first preference votes in a House of 234 to win the election. The DMK combine has 166 members (DMK – 96, Congress – 35, PMK – 18, CPI(M) – 9, CPI – 6 and VCK - 2) and the AIADMK and its ally have 66 MLAs (AIADMK – 60 and MDMK – 6).

The lone independent is expected to support the DMK combine, according to alliance leaders. The DMDK, which has one MLA, is yet to take a decision.

The nominated member does not have voting rights.

In case candidates are unable to get 34 first preference votes, the second and third preference votes come into play.

The DMK combine is confident of winning all five seats even if the contest goes into the second and third preference votes.

There was a contest to the Rajya Sabha in 1983 (July) and 1996 (February).

In 1996, though an independent managed to file his nomination, five AIADMK candidates and a Congress candidate (then in alliance with the AIADMK) won.

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