Chennai: With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for April 23, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has unveiled its complete list of candidates for all constituencies it will contest, marking a crucial milestone in its poll preparations. 

Votes will be counted on May 4, with results to be declared the same day.

The upcoming election is set to witness a four-cornered contest, involving the DMK-led alliance, the AIADMK-aligned National Democratic Alliance (NDA), actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK).

The DMK will contest 164 of the 234 Assembly constituencies, while its alliance partners will field candidates in the remaining 70 seats. With the alliance partners having already released their lists, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Friday announced the party’s full slate of 164 candidates.

Stalin will once again contest from his stronghold, Kolathur constituency. His son and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin will seek re-election from Chepauk–Triplicane, the seat he currently represents.

In a notable political development, veteran leader O. Panneerselvam, who was expelled from the AIADMK and later aligned with the DMK, will contest from Bodinayakanur in Theni district — a constituency he has won multiple times in the past.

Several senior leaders and sitting ministers have been retained in their traditional constituencies, underlining the party’s strategy of continuity and incumbency strength. Among them are Duraimurugan, P. K. Sekar Babu, E. V. Velu, K. N. Nehru, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Raja Kannappan, Anitha Radhakrishnan, Geetha Jeevan, Masthan, and Senthil Balaji, all of whom will contest from their respective sitting seats.

However, in a key seat-sharing adjustment within the alliance, the Padmanabhapuram constituency — currently represented by Minister Mano Thangaraj — has been allocated to the Congress party.

The release of the candidate list signals the DMK’s readiness to enter a high-stakes electoral contest, with alliances, candidate selection, and constituency strategies now firmly in place ahead of polling.