Former Union Health Minister and Chief Ministerial candidate of Pattali Makkal Katchi, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss will contest the May 16 Assembly elections from Pennagaram constituency in Dharmapuri district.

A sitting Lok Sabha MP from Dharmapuri, Dr. Anbumani is at present the PMK’s Youth Wing President. He was elected to Parliament in the 2014 General elections as an ally of the BJP-led NDA. But PMK had quit the coalition just before the election announcement.

Releasing its list of 90 candidates, the PMK said that Party president G.K. Mani would contest from Mettur constituency in Salem district, while sitting MLA A. Ganesh Kumar would once again contest from Gingee constituency.

Pennagaram is a stronghold of PMK, from where G.K. Mani was twice elected to the Assembly in 1996 and 2001.

This would be the first time that Anbumani would be contesting the Assembly polls. The ruling AIADMK and DMK were fielding senior party leaders K.P. Munusamy and Inbasekaran respectively in Pennagaram.

The former Union Minister should also face CPI, which is an ally in Vijayakanth’s DMDK-People’s Welfare Front (PWF), which also includes VCK, and the G.K. Vasan-led Tamil Maanila Congress.

The PMK list contained seven women candidates. Failing to get any major ally, the PMK had decided to go it alone in the polls. It has an ambitious election manifesto, which also includes imposing total prohibition in the State.