Seat-sharing in the AIADMK-led alliance was finalised on Monday in Chennai, with the BJP, PMK and AMMK receiving their allocations. According to the agreement, the BJP will contest 27 seats, the PMK 18 and the AMMK 11.
The discussions were held with AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, following earlier talks involving BJP leaders and a meeting between Palaniswami and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi last week. The negotiations, which had been conducted discreetly until now, were formally taken up by the AIADMK on Monday.
Union Minister and BJP election in-charge Piyush Goyal arrived in Chennai and met Palaniswami along with Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran. He also met PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran, among other alliance leaders, after which the seat-sharing was concluded.
Palaniswami said talks were still under way with other parties in the alliance. The report also noted that the BJP has been allotted seven more seats than in the previous Assembly election, while the PMK’s share has been reduced by five seats.
Dhinakaran’s visit to the AIADMK office for the talks was highlighted as notable, coming after nine years.
