The DMK announced its list on Wednesday evening and party veteran and former Finance Minister K Anbazhagan will not be contesting this year’s Assembly elections. Last year he had contested on the Villivakkam seat, losing to AIADMK's JCD Prabhakar.
He was re-elected as the General Secretary of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam eighth time in a row. He had been elected to be a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative assembly nine times.
A close aide of DMK Chief M Karunanidhi, Anbazhagan, who underwent a series of surgeries owing to a back problem, had conveyed his intention to retire from active politics. The 93-year-old general secretary who is older than party president M. Karunanidhi by a few of years was not keen on continuing in the post and preferred not to get involved in active politics owing to ill-health.
An articulate Anbazhagan who was with Karunanidhi while taking all major decisions in the last five decades had reportedly since 2011, been abstaining from Anna Arivalayam, something he had not given a miss in the past.
Anbazhagan, once a Professor of Tamil in Pachaiyappa’s College and a founder-member of the DMK had a long Legislative innings and a stint in Parliament before he turned an ideological anchor for the party in the post-Annadurai era. DMK Chief had previously praised him saying it was because of Anbazhagan's deft handling of the finance portfolio that the State government was able to implement schemes such as rice at Re.1 a kg.