Seat-sharing talks gain momentum in NDA for TN assembly poll, Modi to kick off election campaign near Chennai

Seat-sharing talks in the NDA in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming assembly polls gained momentum with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to kick off the alliance poll campaign at a massive rally tomorrow (Friday) at Madurantakam, 87 km south of Chennai.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, BJP in-charge for Tamil Nadu, accompanied by a party delegation comprising his ministerial colleague L Murugan and state president Nainar Nagenthran, called on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami at his residence in Chennai on Thursday. Senior AIADMK leaders were also present on the occasion, and the discussion revolved around the potential winnable seats that the BJP wants for itself.

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Though the AIADMK revived its ties with the BJP and re-entered the NDA in April last, the alliance so far has not held a grand show, giving a head start for the election. Neither the AIADMK nor the BJP has finalised the seat-sharing deal. With TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) back in the NDA fold, efforts are on to rope in the DMDK of late actor Vijayakanth, led by his wife Premalatha. Further, former Deputy Chief Minister and expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam is also expected to return to the NDA, following in the footsteps of Dhinakaran. With his task cut out, Goyal has come two days ahead of the PM’s visit. Yesterday, he visited the venue at Madurantakam to supervise the arrangements.

Being the Big Brother in the state, the AIADMK is heading the NDA in Tamil Nadu, and EPS is holding the cards close to the chest. According to sources, EPS is likely to allot seats for the saffron party in the southern districts and the Cauvery Delta districts, where the AIADMK had performed not so well in the last Lok Sabha election when it contested without the BJP. And, EPS wants to have the lion’s share of seats for the AIADMK in the northern and western districts. With this in view, he had inked the seat-sharing pact with the OBC-Vanniyar-dominant Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) faction of Anbumani, though the details are not revealed. The PMK too has its support base in the northern districts, though the split in the party between the father-son duo has weakened the party.

With Premalatha said to be making a hard bargain, now all eyes are on the DMDK as to whether the party would share the dais with the PM at the Madurantakam rally on Friday.