After getting BJP ticket in Tamil Nadu polls, Kushboo Sundar has a question for Congress, DMK

Kushboo Sundar, Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the Thousand Lights constituency, thanked the party’s leadership for offering her a ticket in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls. She also questioned the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam about the number of women candidates contesting the elections from their parties.

“I am thankful to my leaders in Delhi as well as in the state [Tamil Nadu] for considering me for this constituency. DMK and the Congress can not accept orders from a woman. How many seats have they given to women candidates?” Kushboo asked, as reported by news agency ANI.

Also read | TN CM Edappadi Palaniswami confident of ‘sweeping majority’ in assembly polls

Out of the 17 names announced on Sunday, three are women, including Kushboo Sundar, Vanathi Srinivasan and CK Saraswathi. While the DMK has fielded a little over 10 women candidates, the first list of 21 candidates released by the Congress party has no women in it.

The BJP has fielded Kushboo Sundar from the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai, which has been a stronghold of the opposition DMK. The seat currently has a sitting DMK MLA and has a past of favouring the DMK. In 2001 and 2006, MK Stalin won from this seat. Kushboo Sundar, who was a former spokesperson of the Indian National Congress party, joined the BJP in October 2020.

Also read | Union minister and 3 sitting MPs mark BJP’s Bengal nominees for 3rd, 4th phases

Earlier in the day, the BJP released the list of 17 candidates for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections. The party is contesting in 20 seats as a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Tamil Nadu party president L Murugan is contesting from the Dharapuram constituency in the Tiruppur district. The national president of the BJP’s women wing, Vanathi Srinivasan, has been given the Coimbatore South seat to face Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan and Mayura S Jaikumar of the Congress.