AIADMK announces 4 candidates for Rajya Sabha elections

CHENNAI: AIADMK today announced four candidates for next month's Rajya Sabha elections and also extended support to the candidate which would be proposed by the CPI(M).

In a statement, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha announced the names of N Chinnadurai, L Sasikala Pushpa, S Muthukaruppan and Vijila Satyanant.

The AIADMK chief also said her party would extend support to the nominee proposed by the CPI(M), heeding a request by the Left party.

A CPI(M) delegation led by party state secretary G Ramakrishan had recently met Jayalalithaa at her camp office at Kodanad and sought AIADMK's support for its candidate, even as the party MP P K Rangarajan's term ends by April 2 2014.

The CPI(M) is yet to announce its candidate. Last year, during the biennial elections, AIADMK had supported the candidature of senior CPI leader D Raja.

The terms of five other Rajya Sabha MPs -- A A Jinnah and Vasanthi Stanely (both DMK), G K Vasan and Jayanthi Natarajan (both Congress) and AIADMK's N Balaganga also send on the same day.

DMK has already announced Tiruchi N Siva as its candidate.

The Election Commission has announced that polling for the biennial elections will be held on February 7, if necessary.