Chennai: Ahead of the biennial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16, candidates from Tamil Nadu’s major political parties filed their nominations on Thursday.

From the ruling DMK, Tiruchi Siva and party spokesperson J Constantine Ravindran submitted their papers, accompanied by Chief Minister M K Stalin, who is also the DMK president. The DMK’s allies, Congress and DMDK, also filed nominations, with M Christopher Tilak and L K Sudeesh submitting their papers. Each ally has been allotted one Rajya Sabha seat from the four seats allocated to the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.

Also read | OPS, Jayalalithaa’s Man Friday: Why his DMK shift could sway TN polls

Tiruchi Siva, a four-time Rajya Sabha member, is expected to secure re-election, while Constantine, Tilak, and Sudeesh are set to enter the Upper House for the first time. The election marks a milestone for the DMDK, as it will send its first MP, with Sudeesh, brother-in-law of party founder ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth, likely to take the seat.

Meanwhile, opposition parties also completed their filings. AIADMK sitting MP M Thambidurai and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss submitted their nominations for the two Rajya Sabha seats allocated to the AIADMK-led alliance. Thambidurai was accompanied by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, while Anbumani filed his nomination with senior AIADMK leaders including K P Munusamy.

Based on the numerical strength of the parties in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, all the nominees are set to be elected unopposed, with the DMK securing four seats and the AIADMK two seats.

This Rajya Sabha election highlights the strategic alliances in Tamil Nadu politics, with the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance accommodating both Congress and DMDK, and the AIADMK working closely with the PMK (Anbumani faction) to maintain its representation in the Upper House.