The NDA line-up in Tamil Nadu is expected to be wide, and will be pitted against a likely DMK-Congress combine.
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Tuesday announced that it has finalised an alliance with the PMK for the coming 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The announcement comes ahead of high-level meetings between the AIADMK and the leadership of the BJP to firm up their alliance for the elections.
"AIADMK and PMK have decided to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as part of a mega alliance. PMK will contest in seven Lok Sabha constituencies and would get a Rajya Sabha seat. As part of the alliance, PMK would extend support for the AIADMK in the impending bypolls to 21 Assembly seats," AIADMK coordinator and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam announced, after signing a formal seat-sharing agreement with PMK in the presence of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss.
The PMK enjoys significant support among the Vanniyar community, and could help swing the results in seats in northern and western parts of Tamil Nadu. The PMK was part of the BJP-led NDA during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and had won one seat.
The announcement that the AIADMK and PMK have agreed on the terms of their alliance came even as Union Minister and the BJP's Tamil Nadu election in-charge Piyush Goyal was expected to reach Chennai on Tuesday noon to finalise the alliance with AIADMK.
BJP president Amit Shah might arrive later in the day to formally announce the alliance with AIADMK, said sources. BJP would allocate a seat each for Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK), New Justice Party. Vijayakanth's DMDK and Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress would also join the AIADMK led alliance.
Dr Ramadoss said that the constituencies would be announced later. "We have put 10 conditions for aligning with the AIADMK for the LS polls," he said, listing out the conditions including release of seven life convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, declaring Cauvery delta districts as protected agricultural zone, closure of 500 liquor shops as part of phased implementation of prohibition and closing down of sand quarries.
PMK which is known for switching alliances for every election was supposedly holding simultaneous talks with both the AIADMK and the DMK for the 2019 LS polls. With the DMK refusing to allocate not more than four seats to it, PMK has signed the seat sharing agreement with AIADMK for seven LS seats on Tuesday. Interestingly, PMK had contested six LS seats in alliance with AIADMK in 2009 Lok Sabha polls and failed to win even a single seat.
Sources in AIADMK said that party agreed to allocate seven LS seats plus a Rajya Sabha only in return of its support for the bypolls. "Out of the 21 Assembly seats which are remaining vacant, eight of them were in Northern Tamil Nadu where PMK enjoys Vanniyar vote bank support. We required to win a minimum of 10 Assembly seats to remain in power," the leader said.
The ruling AIADMK has floated the mega alliance to take on the DMK led alliance comprising of Congress, Left parties, MDMK, VCK, IUML and MMK. The AIADMK led alliance looks stronger in the Western and the Northern Tamil Nadu if one goes by the past performance of these parties in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and 2016 Assembly polls. Though AIADMK has suffered rebellion led by VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, the ruling party still now enjoys a considerable support base in the western Tamil Nadu from where Edappadi K Palaniswami hails. BJP also has a support base in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts while PMK enjoys support in Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.
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 "AIADMK and PMK leaders at the formal signing of the alliance.")
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