DMK has unveiled its final list of candidates and constituencies for the upcoming assembly polls on Friday and after allotting 61 seats to the allied parties, the Tamil Nadu Opposition party will directly be contesting in 173 assembly seats, and amid large-scale speculations, DMK President MK Stalin has announced the candidates in Anna Arivalayam in Chennai in the presence of senior leaders Duraimurugan and TR Baalu. 

While unveiling the list, Stalin had pressed that the alliance has been made not for the elections but for the principles and ideologies and he said that DMK had allotted 61 seats to the alliance (Congress -25 seats, MDMK, VCK, CPI, CPI(M)- six seats each, Indian Union Muslim League and Kondu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi-3 each, Manitheneya Makkal Katchi - 2, Tamilazha Valvurimai Katchi, Adhi Tamilar Peravai, Makkal Viduthalai Katchi, and Agila Indhiya Forward Bloc- one seat each).

Stalin said that DMK will be contesting in 173 seats directly and as per the agreement, some of the allied parties will contest in DMK's 'Rising Sun' symbol through which the 'Rising Sun' symbol will be on the ballots in 187 constituencies - the highest since 1989. DMK has offered tickets to many new faces to contest in the polls including social activist Karthikeya Sivasenapathy and Stalin's son Udhayanidhi Stalin. 

When Udhayanidhi Stalin entered the party and took over DMK's Youth Wing, it was strongly speculated that he has been prepared to become the second in the line of succession after Stalin and when Udhayanidhi campaigned for DMK in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it was close to the confirmation that he will become one of the unskippable candidates for the assembly polls. When the party prepared for the polls, Udhayanidhi took part in the first phase of campaigns across the state. 

Proving that he is all set for the assembly polls, Udhayanidhi Stalin had recently moved his nomination to the party's leadership to seek the party's ticket to contest from Chepauk- Triplicane constituency. He had attended the party's interview on contesting in the polls and now, it is confirmed that he is ready to contest in his first assembly polls and DMK's first assembly polls as Stalin's as the president and since the demise of DMK Patriarch Karunanidhi. On Friday, MK Stalin has unveiled the list of DMK candidates and announced that Udhayanidhi Stalin will be contesting from Chepauk- Triplicane constituency. 

DMK's list had drawn significant attention by offering tickets for more new faces and Udhayanidhi Stalin has been fielded in DMK's stronghold and he has been pushed to keep the stronghold and party's history that Chepauk- Triplicane continues to be DMK's fortress. The sources say that Udhayanidhi has chosen a safe haven to enter the assembly for the first time. The voters from Chepauk- Triplicane had a history of sending DMK members to the successive assemblies. 

Finding a prospect of a comfortable win, Stalin's son has picked this constituency and with a pre-election survey suggesting that the DMK will win the polls, the party leaders expect that the upcoming polls will give a breakthrough for Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is not here only for being a star campaigner. It must be noted that late DMK President Karunanidhi had been elected as MLA three times from this constituency. Karunanidhi was elected to the assembly from this constituency in 1996, 2001, and 2006 elections. It was in the 1991 elections that the party had lost this constituency after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After 1991, the constituency had voted for the DMK leaders. 

Following Karunanidhi, J Anbazhagan, who was close to Stalin, was elected from the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency and he represented the constituency for two consecutive times including in the current assembly. Anbazhagan had died in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and following his demise, the constituency hasn't elected the representation for the assembly as the by-election wasn't held owing to the pandemic. Udhayanidhi Stalin has now given a ticket to contest in the upcoming polls from the Chepauk-Triplicane constituency.

On the other hand, BJP, which is in the ruling ADMK alliance, expected Chepauk- Triplicane constituency to field actor turned politician Khushbu Sundar. However, the ADMK alliance had offered this constituency to the other allied party Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and PMK has fielded Kasaali as the party's candidate in Chepauk- Triplicane constituency. The process of filing nominations for contesting in the polls in Tamil Nadu had begun on Friday and the state will go to the single-phase polls on April 6 and the votes will be counted on May 2nd, during which the results will be announced.