Lok Sabha Elections 2019: AIADMK, BJP Join Hands in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry; DMK-Congress Alliance Talks in Final Stages
On Tuesday, the AIADMK announced that it will contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the PMK and BJP, allotting seven and five of the 39 seats respectively to them.
Chennai, February 19: The AIADMK on Tuesday sealed an electoral alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Paattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, the alliance talks between the DMK and the Congress appear to be in final stages. Besides the Congress, MDMK, CPI, CPI-M and VCK may also join the DMK-led alliance.
On Tuesday, the AIADMK announced that it will contest the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the PMK and BJP, allotting seven and five of the 39 seats respectively to them. As per the seat-sharing pact, the PMK will also get a Rajya Sabha seat. The AIADMK swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, winning 37 of the state's 39 seats. The BJP had won just one seat.
AIADMK Coordinator and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam told the media that both the PMK and BJP will support the AIADMK in the assembly by-elections due in 21 constituencies. In the 235-member assembly, the AIADMK has 115 members followed by the DMK with 88, Congress eight, one of the IUML, one independent, the speaker and 20 vacant seats (18 disqualified and two dead). Besides, there is a nominated member. BJP Government Approved Mekedatu Dam Project with Eye on Lok-Sabha Polls: AIADMK.
The first to go off the block on Tuesday was the pact with PMK, which has a support base in northern Tamil Nadu, especially among the OBC Vanniyar community. "Under the AIADMK-led alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, PMK gets seven Lok Sabha seats. It will also get one Rajya Sabha seat," Panneerselvam told reporters. The PMK won six seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha election -- its highest so far.
Later in the evening, Panneerselvam announced the AIAMDK-BJP pact, giving the latter five seats. "We have agreed to contest the elections under the leadership of Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam. All 40 seats in Tamil Nadu (39 seats) and Puducherry will be won by us," Union Minister and Tamil Nadu in-charge for BJP Piyush Goyal said.
As far as the DMK-Congress alliance is concerned, the talks are said to be in final stages. The proposed seat-sharing pact was discussed at a meeting Congress President Rahul Gandhi had with leaders from the state including PCC President KS Alagiri, senior leader P Chidambaram and former PCC Presidents KV Thangkabalu and S. Thirunavukkarasar, sources told IANS.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel and Mukul Wasnik, who would be going to Chennai for finalising the deal with DMK President M K Stalin, are understood to have met DMK MP Kanimozhi in Delhi in this regard. The Congress is likely to get nine Lok Seats under an agreement with the DMK in Tamil Nadu in the coming Lok Sabha elections besides the lone seat in Puducherry.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2019 11:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).