DMK announces three candidates for Rajya Sabha biennial elections; allots one seat to Kamal Haasan

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) annnouced three candidates for the biennial elections for six seats of the Rajya Sabha, and has allotted one seat to actor Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam.

In a statement, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin re-nominated incumbent MP P. Wilson, and announced S.R. Sivalingam and A. Rokkaiah Malik, better known as poet Salma, as candidates. He also said that one seat had been allocated to the Makkal Needhi Maiam, as agreed upon earlier.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 26 announced the schedule for the biennial elections to fill up six Rajya Sabha seats — one-third of the seats from Tamil Nadu, which are set to fall vacant in July this year.

The tenures of AIADMK’s N. Chandrasegharan; DMK’s P. Wilson, M.M. Abdulla, and M. Shanmugam; MDMK’s Vaiko; and PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss are set to come to an end.

According to the schedule, the notification would be issued on June 2 and the last date for filing nominations would be June 9, and they would be scrutinised the following day. After the last day for withdrawing nominations, if any, the date of the poll is scheduled on June 19, should there be any contest. The counting of votes is scheduled at 5 p.m. on June 19.

Published - May 28, 2025 11:18 am IST