AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Chennai: AIADMK’s efforts to stitch a strong alliance against the ruling DMK is gaining momentum with the party’s negotiations with Desiya Dravida Murpokku Kazhagam (DMDK) and Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) at an “advanced stage” even as the PMK, an influential party in north Tamil Nadu, keeps its cards close to the chest.
Senior leaders S P Velumani, P Thangamani, K P Anbazhagan, and P Benjamin have so far held two rounds of talks with DMDK, which was founded by late actor Vijayakant, and one round with PT leader M Krishnaswamy, a prominent Dalit leader in southern Tamil Nadu.
While the DMDK has sought five Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha berth from the AIADMK, the PT has set its eye on the Tenkasi (SC) constituency. The PMK, which is still undecided on the alliance question, has not held formal talks with the AIADMK, though back-channel talks have been going on for the past few weeks.
Sources told DH that the AIADMK is willing to allot three Lok Sabha seats to the DMDK without committing on the Rajya Sabha demand of the party—which is being sought for Vijayakanth’s wife and party’s new head Premalatha—while Tenkasi is likely to be allotted to Krishnaswamy.
“We have conveyed our stand, and we are waiting for the DMDK to get back to us. We will finalise the alliance with DMDK and PT in a couple of days,” a senior AIADMK leader told DH.
Clinching electoral pacts with all the three parties will not just strengthen the AIADMK alliance but will also add heft to party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s political acumen as these outfits were actively courted by the BJP as well.
Palaniswami, who took the bold decision of snapping ties with the BJP last year, needs a “strong alliance” to take on the ruling DMK alliance whose arithmetic strength has been proven successful in multiple elections.
An alliance with the PMK, which has a committed vote bank of 5.5 per cent, is likely to help the AIADMK in northern Tamil Nadu which accounts for a dozen Lok Sabha seats. The party is also likely to ally with smaller parties, some of whom may be allotted a Lok Sabha seat.
Another AIADMK leader said the party might consider allotting one Rajya Sabha berth to the PMK along with seven Lok Sabha seats, in line with the 2019 seat-sharing formula, given the regional party’s influence in northern TN, against the demand of 10 parliamentary seats and one RS berth.
However, the AIADMK is still waiting for the word from PMK, which is also in talks with the BJP. The national party is understood to have been non-committal on a Rajya Sabha berth which is forcing the PMK to delay its decision on an alliance.
The BJP, which is also aiming to stitch a rainbow coalition, has so far signed an alliance pact only with the Tamil Maanila Congress led by former Union Minister G K Vasan.