Vijayakant invites applications for 40 LS seats in TN, Pondy

CHENNAI: Actor-politician Vijayakant, whose DMDK is being wooed by DMK and BJP for an electoral alliance for the coming Lok Sabha polls, today invited applications from prospective party candidates for all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Vijayakant, Opposition Leader in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, announced that application forms will be sold from January 23 and those interested in contesting from the 40 seats (39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry) could submit filled-in ones by February 1, 2014 at the party headquarters here.

Those willing to contest should be either a party functionary or a primary member and application forms cost Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 for general and reserved constituencies, respectively, he said in a statement.

"I request the partymen to work towards our massive win in the elections," he said.

Vijayakant's move comes in the wake of DMK and BJP pursuing the actor-politician for an electoral tie-up, even as he has announced that a decision in this regard would be announced in DMDK's February 2 conference at Ulundurpet in Villupuram district.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi, who had expressed joy if his party aligned with DMDK, had recently said no alliance talks were on between the two.

However, leaders of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, which had recently joined the DMK-led front, had met Vijayakant in Malaysia on Sunday and urged him not to align with BJP, saying he should not help communal forces come to the helm, but join hands with DMK "in the interest of the country."