Coimbatore: Several AIADMK candidates including municipal administration minister S P Velumani and a DMK candidate filed nominations here on Monday.
Velumani, who was accompanied by a posse of party cadres, offered prayers at the Perur Pateeswarar Temple before reaching the Perur taluk office to file nomination papers for the Thondamuthur assembly constituency.
Talking to reporters outside the office, Velumani said that the people of Tamil Nadu have already gifted the chief minister’s chair to Edappadi K Palaniswami. “He had launched several projects for all sections of people. AIADMK will provide free washing machines to every household. We will waive educational loans. People of Thondamuthur assembly constituency will vote for me and I will win by a huge margin,” he said.
While the minister, who was surrounded by hundreds of party cadres, was talking to reporters, an AIADMK supporter raised a slogan praising him.
The minister violated the model code of conduct (MCC) by meeting the press on the returning officer’s office premises, a source said. “Also, hundreds of party cadres were present within 100m of the office. One of them raised a slogan. All these violated MCC,” he said.
AIADMK’s Coimbatore south constituency sitting MLA Amman K Arjunan filed his nomination for the Coimbatore north assembly constituency. Party cadres gave him a rousing welcome on NSR Road at Saiababa Colony. BJP functionaries and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) functionaries also accompanied him. Most of them were not wearing face masks. They burst crackers on the road, leading to roadblock.
Arjunan’s son A Gopalakrishnan also filed nomination as dummy candidate.
AIADMK’s Coimbatore north assembly sitting MLA P R G Arunkumar and DMK candidate R Krishnan filed nominations for the Kavundampalayam assembly constituency.
AIADMK candidate A K Selvaraj filed his nomination for the Mettupalayam assembly constituency. AIADMK’s Sulur sitting MLA P Kandasamy filed nomination for the Sulur assembly constituency. K R Jayaram of AIADMK filed nomination for the Singanallur assembly constituency.
In Tirupur district, assembly speaker P Dhanapal filed nomination for the Avinashi assembly constituency. Former AIADMK minister M S M Anandan filed nomination for the Palladam assembly constituency and former AIADMK MP C Mahendran filed nomination for the Madathukulam assembly constituency. DMK’s former Tirupur corporation mayor K Selvaraj filed nomination for the Tirupur south assembly constituency.