DMDK replaces one of its candidates

CHENNAI: In the second such instance in a week, Opposition DMDK replaced one of its candidates for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls.

DMDK founder Vijayakanth replaced his party's candidate for Cuddalore Lok Sabha seat, fielding C R Jaishankar in place of R Ramanujam.

Announcing the change in a statement, Vijayakanth, however, did not specify any reason for his decision, but appealed to his local functionaries to ensure the victory of Jaishankar.

Earlier, the party's candidate for Namakkal, N Maheswaran had pulled out of the electoral race on health grounds. He was one of the five candidates unilaterally announced by the party before it struck an alliance with BJP.

Vijayakanth later named S K Vel for Namakkal. DMDK is facing the polls as part of the BJP-led combine in Tamil Nadu and has been allotted 14 seats by the saffron party. The state has a total of 39 constituencies.