MDMK nominates Vaiko as its candidate for RS polls

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) on Tuesday named party General Secretary Vaiko as the party's candidate from Tamil Nadu for the July 18 Rajya Sabha polls.

Speaking to , Vaiko said: "At a high-level committee conducted today, I was nominated as the candidate for the ensuing Rajya Sabha elections, for the lone seat allotted to MDMK by the DMK as part of a pre-poll agreement."

The 75-year old leader visited DMK president MK Stalin at the party headquarters to thank him for the seat.

On July 1, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) announced names of its three nominees for the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls.DMK President MK Stalin nominated M Shanmugham of DMK and advocate B Wilson for the Rajya Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu to be held on July 18.The DMK had agreed to give one of its three Rajya Sabha seats to Vaiko, chief of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party, as part of an agreement in the recently held parliamentary election.Advocate and former Additional Solicitor General of India Wilson is the man who won the Marina land case in Madras High court when the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government did not give permission for late chief minister M Karundhi to be buried at the Marina beach.Shanmugham is general secretary of Labour Progressive Federation, the DMK's labour union wing.Elections to the six Tamil Nadu Rajya Sabha seats is scheduled on July 18.In the 234-member Assembly, AIADMK has 123 members, DMK 100, Congress 7, IUML and Independent one each with two seats vacant.

( With inputs from ANI )