As the election to the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly approaches, Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit chief Nainar Nagendran on Friday held a crucial meeting with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to finalise the seat-sharing pact among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners. Notably, the meeting between the two was held ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state later this month.
Following the meeting, Nagendran said that talks were 'successful'. "Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tamil Nadu later this month, we held consultations. We discussed whether the Prime Minister's event should be held in Chennai or Madurai," he told reporters.
Seat-sharing pact finalised?
According to sources, the BJP has shown intentions of contesting on more than 50 seats. A meeting was also held between Palaniswami and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is BJP's in-charge for Tamil Nadu, on December 23 when the saffron party put forth its demand. Later, Palaniswami also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, where the BJP struck to its demand.
It must be noted that the BJP was allotted just 25 seats during the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. Of these, the saffron party won just four seats. On the other hand, the AIADMK had contested from 191 seats and secured 66.
However, the AIADMK is unwilling to accept the BJP's demand. According to sources, the AIADMK wants to contest on at least 170 seats, which means the BJP and other NDA partners will have to fight on just 64 seats.
No entry for Panneerselvam, Dhinakaran in NDA?
The AIADMK has also told BJP that it will not allow former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and TTV Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) to be included in the NDA. According to sources, Palaniswami, during his meeting with Nagendran, reiterated that Panneerselvam and Dhinakaran will not be allowed to enter the NDA.
Elections to the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly will likely be held in March or April this year, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) is expected to announce the dates soon.
