PMK to contest in 23 seats in Tamil Nadu as part of AIADMK alliance

The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has been allotted 23 seats in the AIADMK-led alliance for Tamil Nadu’s upcoming Assembly polls. The announcement was made by AIADMK’s Coordinator O Panneerselvam, in the presence of Joint Coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami. PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss was also present when the announcement was made.

Senior PMK leaders GK Mani and AK Moorthy were also present in Chennai, when the seat-sharing was announced by the AIADMK. The details of the constituencies is yet to be confirmed, O Panneerselvam said. Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Anbumani Ramadoss said, "As far as this election is concerned, our demand was reservation for Vanniyars. The government has fulfilled that. Hence, we have willingly reduced the number of seats that we will contest in the elections. Our strength is not going to diminish. Our alliance will win in this election and Edappadi Palaniswami will become the Chief Minister again."

TNM had earlier reported that the PMK has demanded around 30 seats for the polls and it is expected that the seats allotted to Ramadoss’ party would be in Dharmapuri, Virudhunagar and mainly the northern region of Tamil Nadu, which has a considerable Vanniyar population.

The PMK, which has a history of alternating between the two Dravidian giants,  had in the 2016 Assembly elections chosen to go it alone. However, it failed to win a single seat in the polls. 

Meanwhile, the BJP also conducted seat-sharing talks on Saturday with the AIADMK. Sources had told TNM that the AIADMK offered the BJP 15 seats. However, with the national party demanding more constituencies, negotiations continue.

On Friday, with just minutes to go for the Model Code of Conduct to come into effect, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a Bill providing 10.5% reservation for Vanniyars in education and employment in Tamil Nadu. The internal reservation within the Most Backward Classes category has been a demand of the PMK and the eleventh hour move by the AIADMK was an attempt to keep its ally in its good books.

Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 6 and the votes will be counted on May 2. The state’s Assembly elections will be held in a single-phase, with the poll battle primarily being between the AIADMK alliance and the DMK front.