Tamil Nadu: Seat-sharing talks on between AIADMK and BJP

Seat-sharing talks are on in Tamil Nadu between the AIADMK and its alliance partner BJP as the state prepares for what analysts believe will be a tough fight with the opposition DMK.

AIADMK’s top brass including chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy CM O Panneerselvam called on Union home minister Amit Shah at a hotel in Chennai late on Sunday night to discuss the seat-sharing strategy for the April 6 assembly election. The talks, which began around 10 pm, went on for about three hours.

On Sunday, the AIADMK finalised its seat-sharing with ally Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for the assembly polls. The PMK, headed by S. Ramadoss, has been allotted 23 seats.


A final decision on the seat-sharing with the BJP was expected late on Monday.

Shah was in Puducherry and Villupuram on Sunday addressing public gatherings. He is among the top leaders of the BJP who have been frequenting the poll-bound state ahead of the election.

In the 2016 assembly polls, the AIADMK won 136 seats out of the total 234 seats in the state.

The DMK, on its part, reached a seat-sharing agreement with the Indian Union Muslim League and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi on Monday, allotting them three and two seats respectively. The constituencies will be decided later.