Lok Sabha polls | KMDK changes its candidate for Namakkal constituency

KMDK changes candidate for Namakkal Parliamentary constituency due to controversy over casteist remarks, new candidate announced.

The Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK), part of the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, changed its candidate for the Namakkal Parliamentary constituency on Friday, March 22, 2024.

The KMDK is contesting in Namakkal on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol. On March 18, KMDK general secretary E.R. Eswaran had announced that S. Suriamoorthi would be the Namakkal candidate. After this announcement however, a controversy erupted after a video went viral on social media platforms showing Mr. Suriyamoorthi making casteist remarks. Subsequently, many of KMDK’s alliance partners, including the DMK, CPI, VCK, and CPI (M) urged the party to change its candidate.

Around midnight on Thursday, Mr. Eswaran conducted an urgent meeting with KMDK functionaries in Namakkal. Later in a press release, Mr. Eswaran said the Namakkal constituency candidate had been changed and Namakkal south’s KMDK district secretary V.S. Madeswaran would be the new candidate.

Mr. Madeswaran is a resident of Senthamangalam involved in farming and transport businesses. He served as the Senthamangalam union panchayat vice chairman from 2006 to 2011. In 2016, he contested in the Namakkal assembly constituency as an independent candidate but lost.