New Delhi: The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) finalised its seat-sharing with ally Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for the upcoming April 6 assembly polls. The decision came a day after the Election Commission announced the election schedule. The PMK party headed by S. Ramadoss has been allotted 23 seats.
Deputy chief minister and AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam told the media that as per the agreement reached between AIADMK and PMK, 23 seats have been allotted to PMK. The seats, however, have not been made public yet.
The AIADMK has also begun holding talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A BJP delegation comprising of Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, Tamil Nadu in-charge C.T. Ravi and state party chief L. Murugan held talks with E. Palaniswami and Panneerselvam. The ruling party is also reportedly holding talks with the Vijayakanth-led DMDK.
While the AIADMK clinched the deal, the DMK too has set up a committee under senior party leader T.R. Baalu to hold talks with alliance partners including the Congress and Left parties on seat sharing.
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The PMK party’s decision to join the alliance came soon after the AIADMK agreed to their long-pending demand of a separate reservation for the Vanniyar community in jobs and in admission to educational institutions. Hours before the Election Commission announced the election dates, the state assembly passed a bill envisaging 10.5% internal reservation for Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community.
Of the total 234 assembly seats, AIADMK had contested 227 in the 2016 elections. The remaining seven seats were distributed among its allies. Of them, the party had won 134 seats and DMK got 98.