New Delhi, Jan 18 DMK's M.K. Stalin is the first choice of the people of Tamil Nadu for the post of Chief Minister with sitting CM and AIADMK leader E.K. Palaniswami placed at a distant number two, as per the C-Voter Battle for the States survey.
The survey, which included over 15,000 repondents covering all the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu, said that actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are placed further behind.
The survey said that 36.4 per cent people in Tamil Nadu see Stalin as the most suitable candidate for the Chief Minister's post, followed by Palaniswami at 25.5 per cent.
AIADMK's O. Paneerselvam, who is currently the Deputy Chief Minister in the state, is being seen as a suitable candidate for the top post by 10.9 per cent people, it said.
Paneerselvam has served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu thrice.
The survey also said that AMMK's V.K. Sasikala is being seen as the suitable candidate for the Chief Minister's post by 10.6 per cent people.
Sasikala, who was a close aide of former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader late J. Jayalalithaa, was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment in a disproportainate asset case and was expelled from the AIADMK in August 2017. She then floated the AMMK with T.T.V. Dinakaran as the president.
The survey said that superstar Rajinikanth, who had earlier announced that he will not contest the state polls, is being seen as the suitable candidate for the Chief Minister's post by 4.3 per cent of the respondents.
On December 29, Rajinikanth had announced his decision not to get into Tamil Nadu politics, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Similarly, Kamal Haasan, who had floated the MNM in 2019, is being seen as the suitable candidate for the Chief Minister's post by 3.6 per cent people.
As per the survey, S. Ramadoss of the PMK is being seen as the suitable candidate for the top post by 1.7 per cent people, while K.S. Alagiri is being backed by 0.4 per cent people for the top post. The survey said that 6.5 per cent see others as the suitable candidate for the Chief Minister's post.
Since 1967, Tamil Nadu has been governed by the DMK and the AIADMK. The elections for the 234 member house is scheduled later this year.
( With inputs from IANS )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor