AIADMK picks two former legislators for RS elections
Tamil Nadu's main opposition AIADMK on Sunday announced former MLAs M Dhanapal and IS Inbadurai as its two nominees for the June 19 biennial election to the Rajya Sabha, said AIADMK general secretary KP Munusamy, adding that ally Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) will be given one Rajya Sabha seat when vacancies arise in 2026.
On July 24 this year, six RS members from Tamil Nadu will retire and it includes PMK's Anbumani Ramadoss and MDMK top leader Vaiko.
To secure a Rajya Sabha seat, a nominee requires 34 votes. The AIADMK, led by Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), has 62 MLAs and the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has four MLAs. The AIADMK and BJP formed an alliance in April to fight the 2026 assembly elections together after splitting for 19 months.
The DMK-led coalition, the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), in Tamil Nadu has a strength of 159 legislative members in the 234-member assembly.
The DMK has announced four nominees. The party re-nominated senior advocate P Wilson and nominated party members Salma, and SR Sivalingam, while giving the fourth nomination to ally Kamal Haasan, actor and chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM).
While announcing the nominees, Munusamy said that the DMDK continues to be in their alliance and that EPS has confirmed that they will be given a seat in the Upper House next time. However, the DMDK was not happy with the announcement.
DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant did not confirm Munusamy's statement that the DMDK will continue in the AIADMK-led NDA alliance. 'Politics is all about elections. The AIADMK has made its announcement. The DMDK will announce its stand on alliance in January 2026 at the party's conference in Cuddalore,' Vijayakant told reporters.
When the AIADMK split from the BJP, only the DMDK remained with the Dravidian major, while the remaining allies such as the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) remained with the NDA.
The current sitting members in the Upper House from Tamil Nadu are MM Abdullah (DMK), N Chandrasegharan (AIADMK), Anbumani Ramadoss (PMK, an ally of NDA), M Shanmugam (DMK), Vaiko (MDMK, an ally of DMK) and Wilson (DMK).
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