Actor Vijay considers two constituencies in Chennai for his electoral debut: Sources
Chennai (PTI): Actor-politician Vijay is considering two constituencies in Chennai from which he may pick one for his maiden electoral contest in the upcoming Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, a source in the TVK said.
Vijay is considering contesting either from Velachery or from Virugambakkam in Chennai. He is obtaining feedback from party functionaries and would make the final decision, the source said.
In the 2021 rural civic polls held in 9 districts, the candidates of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, his fan club, won 115 seats.
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Vijay is exploring Velachery and Virugambakkam constituencies in Chennai, Vikravandi in Villupuram, Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam, and Vedasandur constituency in Karur, sources further said.
The choice fell on seats starting with the letter 'V' after he was advised to select one of these constituencies in view of winning prospects. However, a final decision will be taken by the party leader, they added.
Velachery is a fast-growing constituency in the metro, situated a few km from his Panaiyur residence, while his parents live in Virugambakkam.
Vikravandi was the venue of TVK’s first conference, where Vijay outlined the party’s goals and stated that the TVK was a secular social justice movement aligning with the ideals of B R Ambedkar, Periyar (E V Ramasamy), and Kamaraj.
He had identified the BJP as his “ideological enemy” and the ruling DMK as his “political enemy.”
Interestingly, he had expressed that he was open to sharing power with parties that aligned with the TVK for the 2026 polls.
The party launched on February 2, 2024, has been allotted the “whistle” symbol by the Election Commission.
According to TVK chief coordinator K A Sengottaiyan, Vijay would finalise the list of candidates soon.
“It is Vijay who is contesting from all the 234 constituencies in the state,” Sengottaiyan told reporters after the party commenced on February 6, the distribution of applications to the aspirants keen on contesting the upcoming Assembly poll on the TVK ticket.
Although party leaders ‘Bussy’ N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna and Sengottaiyan formally launched the distribution of applications, which was made online from today owing to the overwhelming response from cadres, the first application was purchased in the party president’s name. The second was in the name of Anand, the party’s general secretary.
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Ranji Trophy: Auqib Nabi takes seven wkts for J&K but MP strike back
Indore (PTI): Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi made a blazing impact by scalding former champions Madhya Pradesh with a seven-wicket haul as his team took a first-innings lead on day two of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here on Saturday.
The 29-year-old quick from remote Kreeri in Jammu & Kashmir returned superb figures of 7 for 40 as he single-handedly decimated Madhya Pradesh for 152, helping J&K take a 42-run first-innings lead against the former Ranji champions.
However, despite the lanky pacer's heroics, J&K still find themselves in a spot of bother, having slumped to 84 for 5 in their second innings -- an overall lead of just 126 in a low-scoring game heading into day three of the engrossing contest.
There was no doubt about the standout performer of the day as Nabi, still riding high after securing a multi-crore deal with Delhi Capitals for the upcoming Indian Premier League season, ran riot through the top and middle order, beginning his onslaught by dismissing Harsh Gawli (10) and Himanshu Mantri (0) in the 14th over.
Those two blows in the space of three deliveries left MP reeling at 2 for 34, which soon became 3 for 39 when left-arm pacer Sunil Kumar (3/47) shattered the stumps of Shubham Sharma, who managed just one run off 19 balls.
Auqib then removed MP skipper Rajat Patidar (10) and Venkatesh Iyer (22) to tighten the screws further.
He capped off his spell by dismissing Aryan Pandey and Ramveer Gurjar for ducks off successive deliveries in the 48th over, leaving Madhya Pradesh in complete disarray.
However, J&K's start to the second innings was equally disappointing as MP pace stalwart Kuldeep Sen (2/25), who had claimed a five-wicket haul in the first innings, struck back with a vengeance.
India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer also made amends after going wicketless in the first innings, returning figures of 2 for 10 to reduce the opponents to 84 for 5 in 26 overs.
Madhya Pradesh, despite the disappointment of conceding the first-innings lead, are back in contention and will be eyeing an outright win if their batters perform better in the second essay.
Brief scores: Jammu & Kashmir 194 and 4 for 5 in 26 overs (Kuldeep Sen 2/25, Venkatesh Iyer 2/10). Madhya Pradesh 152 all out in 53.4 overs (Yash Dubey 58; Auqib Nabi 7/40, Sunil Kumar 3/47).
