AIADMK seals poll deal with ally PMK, allots 23 of 234 seats

A day after the election commission announced dates for poll-bound states, the AIADMK-led NDA alliance began seat-sharing talks on Saturday morning, first with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and later with the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).

Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Saturday sealed a sharing deal with Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) by allotting the latter 23 seats of the 234 assembly constituencies in the state where elections are slated for April 6.

“We scaled down our demand for the seats since the government fulfilled our demand for the Vanniyar reservation,” PMK leader and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss said. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT File Photo)

A day after the election commission announced dates for poll-bound states, the AIADMK-led NDA alliance began seat-sharing talks on Saturday morning, first with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and later with the PMK.

Talks were smooth sailing with the PMK whom the AIADMK took on board on Friday. Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami’s last act before the model code of conduct came into effect was to pass a bill offering a 10.5% internal quota for the Vanniyar community in educational institutions and appointments in government services and jobs within the existing reservation for Most Backward Classes.

“We scaled down our demand for the seats since the government fulfilled our demand for the Vanniyar reservation,” PMK leader and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss said.