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Chennai, Nov 20 (IANS) With just five months left for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, political parties across the state are gearing up, and alliance talks, candidate selection and district-level organizational restructuring are all underway. In this backdrop, the BJP – a key partner in the AIADMK alliance – has decided to demand a significantly higher number of seats this time.
In the 2021 assembly elections, the BJP contested the elections as part of the AIADMK-led alliance. At that time, AIADMK had fielded candidates on 179 seats, while its ally PMK had contested 23 seats, BJP had won 20 seats, TMC had won six seats and six other smaller parties had won one seat each.
The alliance won a total of 75 seats: AIADMK won 66 seats, PMK won five seats and BJP won four seats. However, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP walked out of the AIADMK alliance and formed its own front and took the PMK into its fold.
AIADMK also formed a separate alliance. In that parliamentary election, although the BJP did not win a single seat in Tamil Nadu, its performance surprised many – it outpolled the AIADMK and came second in several constituencies.
Across the state, the BJP emerged runner-up in 39 Lok Sabha constituencies and especially 81 assembly constituencies.
Sources said the BJP has now shortlisted the seats where its second-place performance was strong, and from that list, it plans to demand 45 seats from the AIADMK – more than double the number of seats it contested last time. But the AIADMK leadership is reportedly adamant that it can offer only about 20 seats, similar to the previous arrangement.
After internal discussions, the party is said to have indicated a nominal increase to 24 seats, but the BJP is adamant that the number cannot be reduced below 45.
AIADMK has also told BJP that the final decision will depend on whether other parties like PMK (led by Anbumani Ramadoss) and DMDK join the alliance or not. Their seat expectations will also have to be adjusted within the coalition framework.
A senior BJP leader said, “Everyone has seen the BJP’s progress in the last parliamentary elections. We stood second in 81 assembly constituencies. The AIADMK leadership is aware of this. It is logical to demand more seats.”
The AIADMK is expected to finalize its alliance structure and announce the seat-sharing agreement around the Pongal festival in January.
–IANS
AL/DPB