'I suspect this is because my decision to contest the elections'

Presidential Candidate MK Sivajilingam, MP, told BBC Sandeshaya that he was not allowed to enter India by the authorities at Chennai airport in Tamil Nadu.

"No reasons were given to me and I suspect this is because my decision to contest the elections," he said.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), of which Mr. Sivajilingam is a member, is yet to take a formal stance on the presidential polls to be held on 26 January.

Contesting as an independent, he is the only Tamil candidate at the elections.

Chennai authorities has handed over his passport to the pilot of the airport and urged him not to allow the MP to land in Dubai, according to Mr. Sivajilingam.

He was about to address a Tamil conference in Chennai about the Tamils right to life in northern Sri Lanka.

"I have addressed the conference through telephone links," he said.

It is not clear why India objected his candidacy but he says he will lodge an official complaint on Monday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former military commander, Gen (rtd.) Sarath Fonseka are the main candidates at the 26 January polls.