PMK, AIADMK tie-up for Tamil Nadu elections, EPS arrives in Delhi

Tamil Nadu’s primary opposition AIADMK and the Anbumani Ramadoss-led Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) finalised their alliance on Wednesday, even as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami arrived in Delhi to meet Union home minister Amit Shah. The development comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) firms up its push to expand the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming assembly elections.

“The AIADMK and the BJP have formed an alliance for the assembly elections, and now the PMK has joined us,” Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition EPS said in a joint press conference with Ramadoss. “This is a winning alliance. Our collective goal is to defeat the DMK government that is anti-people and to form a strong government that delivers welfare to the people of Tamil Nadu.”

Leaders aware of the details said the two parties have also reached an agreement on seat allocation for the elections to the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly, set to take place later this year. During the press conference, EPS said “more parties will soon join our alliance”.

Later in the day, EPS travelled to the national capital to meet Shah and discuss key electoral issues. BJP leaders aware of the details said the major issues on the table include the narrative for the assembly elections, inclusion of more parties and leaders in the NDA, and seat sharing among its constituents.

The BJP, which is looking to form a formidable coalition against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), will organise a slew of political programmes and cultural events, designed with an eye on wooing the electorate ahead of the upcoming state polls, the BJP leaders cited above said.

The party is banking on the development narrative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, anti incumbency against the DMK, and the cadre strength of its main ally, the AIADMK, to win the polls.

“Although there are no disagreements between leaders on both sides, there are some logistical issues which need to be addressed. For instance, the BJP is not averse to having a larger coalition of parties, which could include parties like the PMK, TTV Dinakaran’s AMMK (Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam) and (former chief minister) O Paneersalvam... but all of this will need consent from AIADMK,” a BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity.

The leader said the BJP has also conveyed that it will be ready to allocate seats from its quota to smaller factions.

Union minister and the party’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Piyush Goyal, has had several rounds of discussions with leaders of parties that are keen to join the NDA, party leaders said.

Amid the discussions, the party has also begun shaping its outreach in Tamil Nadu, which will include extensive on-ground campaign and rallies addressed by PM Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, the leader quoted above said.

“The schedule for the rallies is yet to be finalised, but we are expecting many high profile visits by senior ministers and leaders.There could also be some announcements and inauguration of big ticket projects in the state by the PM…” the leader cited above added.

In the 2021 polls, the AIADMK won 66 of the 234 seats in the Tamil Nadu assembly, while the BJP won four and the PMK won 5, taking the NDA’s tally to 75 while the DMK alone won 133 seats.