Chennai, March 6: The suspense about which way the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) will go ended on Wednesday after Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam announced that the actor-politician Captain Vijayakant’s party will be part of the AIADMK alliance for the Lok Sabha elections which also includes the BJP. The DMDK will contest on four Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, according to the seat-sharing agreement.
The DMDK decided to join the AIADMK-BJP alliance after the DMK concluded its seat-sharing agreements with Congress, CPM and other parties, virtually closing the door for any more prospective allies. The AIADMK had on February 19 inked poll pacts with the PMK and the BJP and allotted seven and five Lok Sabha seats respectively to them. The PMK will also be getting one Rajya Sabha seat as per the understanding.
The Puthiya Tamizhagam was allotted one seat and the All India NR Congress the lone segment in neighbouring Puducherry by the AIADMK. On Tuesday, the DMK announced that it would contest from 20 seats in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha elections, with the M K Stalin-led party finalising its seat-sharing agreements with all of its allies — a total eight of them.
The DMK will lead a rainbow coalition comprising of the Congress, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, VCK, IUML, KMDK and IJK. The Congress has been allotted the lion’s share of seats among the DMK’s allies, with the grand old party receiving nine seats in the state, besides the lone Puducherry segment. BJP Government Approved Mekedatu Dam Project with Eye on Lok-Sabha Polls: AIADMK.
The two Left parties, besides the VCK, have been given two seats each. The DMK has allotted one seat each to the MDMK, IJK, IUML and the KMDK.
It has also allotted the MDMK one Rajya Sabha seat, the election for which is scheduled for June.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2019 02:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).