The National Democratic Alliance on Monday sealed its seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, with the AIADMK set to contest 178 seats, BJP 27, PMK18, and AMMK 11.
The AIADMK, which leads the NDA in Tamil Nadu, said talks are still on with smaller parties to finalise seat sharing deals, which will be concluded by the end of the day.
“Our alliance is an alliance of victory. We will form government this time. We travel to Delhi to hold discussions, but the DMK is spreading false information about us. Talks concluded smoothly. Our alliance partners held discussion today and, by today, seat allocation of smaller parties will also be decided," AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami said during a press conference held to announce the seat-sharing agreement between the NDA allies.
Union minister Piyush Goyal, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran were also present.
Palaniswami said the constituencies for alliance partners will soon be finalised. Attacking the ruling DMK, he said they are holding talks with their allies but are unable to come up with a proper seat-sharing deal.
“The NDA will form the government with a thumping majority. Despite Kanimozhi meeting Rahul Gandhi, their alliance is not yet final. We hope to finalise seat sharing with all other NDA constituents by tonight," he said.
The BJP and other allies said they are confident about the NDA’s poll prospects and the new government will be formed with Palaniswami as chief minister.
“We will form the government. We are 100% confident that EPS (Palaniswami) will become the chief minister. We are very confident," Goyal exclusively told News18.
“The constituencies will be decided in a few days and we are confident that the NDA will form the government under EPS (Palaniswami)," said AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran.
Separately, AC Shanmugam, founder of the Puthiya Needhi Katchi (PNK), said he has informed Goyal of his party’s willingness to contest nine constituencies under the BJP’s lotus symbol. He referenced his past electoral performances in Vellore, noting that he secured 3.25 lakh votes in 2014 under the BJP symbol and 4.7 lakh votes when contesting with AIADMK support.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. The current tenure of the 234-member state assembly ends on May 10.
The main electoral contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes Congress, DMDK, and other parties. Looking to unseat the ruling alliance are the NDA, led by the AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies.
Sourec: News18