Chennai Central Lok Sabha Constituency - 2014 Election Candidates

P.VINOTH KUMAR

Candidate Name	Candidate Party	Party Symbol
J Prabhakar	Aam Aadmi Party
Sr Vijayakumar	AIADMK
Cd Meiyappan	Congress
Dayanidhimaran	DMK

Dayanidhi Maran 

Dayanidhi Maran (born 5 December 1966, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India) is a member of parliament in India's 15thLok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency and Additional Deputy Leader of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He was elected twice from the same constituency, once during the 2004 general elections and 2009 general elections.

During the period of 2004–2007, he was appointed Minister for Communications and Information Technology in the Union Cabinet. He resigned from the post following the family feud due to Dinakaran attack case in May 2007. He was deputed the Minister for Textiles in the Union Cabinet after the 2009 elections. He resigned from the position of Minister for Textiles in July 2011 following CBI enquiry as a part of 2G Spectrum scam into his alleged involvement in the Aircel-Maxis deal. Maran has been accused in various cases that include his alleged involvement in Aircel-Maxis deal, misusing ministerial powers by utilizing 323 phone connections for his family owned media network and demanding the Tatas 33.33% shares from the Tata-Rupert Murdoch DTH project.

He is the son of Late Mr. Murasoli Maran and the grandnephew of DMK president M Karunanidhi. He is the younger brother ofKalanidhi Maran, the founder and managing director of Sun Network. The Marans' vast media and entertainment empire includes Sun TV network with 20 channels and 45 FM channels, DTH service and two newspapers and four magazines apart from film production and distribution business besides stepping into aviation business through SpiceJet. He is married to Priya, and has a daughter and a son. Maran has wide exposure in the fields of media, television, cable technology, political economy and management on account of his visiting seminar and conference in various countries. Maran has interest in playing golf, cricket and tennis.

J Prabhakar's Profile

J.Prabhakar, affectionately called “JP” by his friends is 58 years old Gandhian, has been associated with various social causes since his job in Ashok Leyland days for the past 30+ years. A person with an artistic bent, he has been painting sketches for media and leading art galleries. Fluent in Tamil and Telugu with required knowledge of English

Professional / Political Profile

He started his social service by campaigning against the evils of ‘liquor’ in 1985. He used to visit villages around Chennai then and campaign for values and ethics. He even brought Anna Hazare in 1989 to some of the villages towards his mission. At that time Anna Hazare was not popular in the nation and he was doing great service in the Ralegan Siddhi village at Maharashtra.

1.      Have travelled long distances, to remote corners of Tamilnadu and also to most of the states of our country, to meet each one of the 800 NGOs/Service oriented individuals, to identify and engage with them, spend time with their families, their friends, supporters, well-wishers. Understanding their work, issues, challenges, and trying to see the hidden link that connects all these people.

2.     After starting ‘Ennangalin Sangamam’ in 2005, with a goal of networking 100 NGOs in one year, today in 2013, after eight years, it has grown to a strong and wide network of more than 800 NGOs.

3.      During the years at Ashok Leyland, was the coordinator of a network ‘Nallor Vattam’ between 1980 and 1995 through which was instrumental in initiating many social projects from the industry. Approximately 67 rural health camps were conducted and regular visits to closeby villages for social work were organised.

4.     Pride in establishing 5 rural schools in Minjur, Athipattu, Theeyambakkam, Thirunindravur and Manali.

5.     In 1989, visited Anna Hazare at his village, Ralegan Sidhi in Maharashtra to witness the village development programs and then implement those programs in Theeyambakkam, a native village of Tamilnadu.

6.     Act as a liaison between the seekers and providers of service. Directs young social activists to a focused path of service according to their individual strengths.

7.     With the vast network of friends and well wishers in all relevant areas, a source of support and strength to all the people in the network.

No political background till date

1.     JP believes that ‘seva’ (the spirit of service) is an undercurrent that runs deep inside the Indian vein and connects everyone across the regional, social, linguistic and economic barriers in this country.

2.     The only way for human beings to attain any level of spiritual growth is by giving and sharing what they have and that is the essence of the teaching of some of the greatest masters of India.

3.     Family lives of all people are extremely important and if taken care of, then there would be no social ills and institutions to attend to such illnesses.

Family Profile

Married to Smt. Nirmala and blessed with two sons Ravivarma and Narendran Smt. Nirmalaa has been a big source of inspiration and has been a part in all his forays. Both his sons are employed in private concerns.

 

S.R. VIJAYAKUMAR

Party:AIADMK

S/o|D/o|W/o: S.Ramalingam

Age: 40

Address: New/Old D.No:77/13, Ward No:105, Valluvar Street, Arumbakkam, Chennai-600106

Name Enrolled as Voter in: Chennai Central (Tamil Nadu) constituency , at Serial no 659 in Part no 151

Email:srvijayakumar74@gmail.com

Contact Number:9840137037

Self Profession:Advocate, Madras High Court
Spouse Profession:House Wife

C.D. MEYYAPPAN

Party:INC

S/o|D/o|W/o: C.T.Devaraj

Age: 51

Address: New D.No:9,8th Street,Y-Block,Anna Nagar,Chennai-600 040

Name Enrolled as Voter in: ANNA NAGAR (Tamil Nadu) constituency , at Serial no 503 in Part no 12

Email:cdmeyyappan@yahoo.co.in

Contact Number:9841078007

Self Profession:Business
Spouse Profession:Business

CAMPAIGNING STRATEGIES

Chennai’s streets are busy as usual but the fervour that was evident during assembly elections is missing—there are no political songs blaring from speakers, and the walls are generally free of symbols and posters.

Dayanidhi Maran, DMK 

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is the only party which launched its state-wide campaign from Chennai, and it chose Chintadripet. The party stronghold is in Muslim-dominated Triplicane, which is one of six areas—the others being Villivakkam, Harbour, Egmore, Thousand Lights and Anna Nagar—in Central Chennai, the constituency represented by the party’s Dayanidhi Maran.

he sound of crackers breaches the decibel barrier. The boisterous crowd in the DMK's red and black colours keeps on dancing to the drumbeats. A jeep with lights and speakers fixed on its sides tells the people about the arrival of Dayanidhi Maran, the DMK candidate from the Chennai Central constituency. 
Dayanidhi greets the waiting crowd at Thiruveethi Amman Koil street in Arumbakkam with a traditional namaste as his supporters chant vetri Maran [victorious Maran]. Ignoring the media waiting to talk to him, he climbs on the campaign vehicle, waves at the crowd and takes the microphone to list out what he has done for them.

Central Chennai has 17,14,987 registered voters. The Maran family has held this constituency since 1996—initially Murasoli Maran, and after his death, his son Dayanidhi.

At the start of the campaign on 26 March, posters of DMK president M. Karunanidhi and his younger son Stalin, and the party’s red and black flags, had been put up every 100m. Images of Maran, the DMK’s Central Chennai candidate who has won twice from this constituency, were few—indication, if any was needed, that the 89-year-old DMK patriarch still calls the shots.

The 48-year-old MP, who had yet to file his nomination papers at the time, said this was the same place from where Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) had started the election campaign for his father in 1996. “I have become a Union minister; it is because of you that the DMK won all the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu in 2004,” he told the crowd.

CAMPAIGNING IN OPEN JEEP

The sound of crackers breaches the decibel barrier. The boisterous crowd in the DMK's red and black colours keeps on dancing to the drumbeats. A jeep with lights and speakers fixed on its sides tells the people about the arrival of Dayanidhi Maran, the DMK candidate from the Chennai Central constituency. 
Dayanidhi greets the waiting crowd at Thiruveethi Amman Koil street in Arumbakkam with a traditional namaste as his supporters chant vetri Maran [victorious Maran]. Ignoring the media waiting to talk to him, he climbs on the campaign vehicle, waves at the crowd and takes the microphone to list out what he has done for them.

AAP’s Central Chennai candidate J Prabhakar

Talking the walk

With nothing to stop him from walking, AAP’s Central Chennai candidate J Prabhakar — who heads a conglomerate of NGOs — undertook an ambitious padayatra at the beginning of April. Claiming that he would not to return home till campaigning ended on April 22, JP began walking to meet his entire electorate and slept at the homes of volunteers along the way. But the heat and slow pace of walking put paid to the padayatra as he wound it up on April 14 — to take things up a notch and cover more ground, using wheels.