The party’s State president Tamilisai Soundararajan does not figure in the list.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been politically isolated in Tamil Nadu, on Friday evening released its first list of 54 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Prominent among the contestants are the party’s national secretary H. Raja (T. Nagar in Chennai), Tamil Nadu unit vice president Vanathi Srinivasan (Coimbatore South) and local heavyweight in Coimbatore C. R. Nandakumar (Singanallur).
Tamilisai not in list
Significantly, the party’s State president Tamilisai Soundararajan does not figure in the first list, though five women have been fielded. The list was released in New Delhi after a party consultation meeting. The BJP is the second party to announce its candidates for the elections. Earlier, Naam Tamilar Katchi, a pro-Tamil outfit, announced its candidates for all 234 constituencies.