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Lok Sabha polls: PMK announces decision to join BJP in Tamil Nadu
The PMK is a Vanniyar community-dominated party and has significant influence in some of the northern districts of the state
In a snub to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and a shot in the arm for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu, regional party Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) on Monday announced its decision to join hands with the national hegemone.
Since the AIADMK cut ties with the BJP last September, both parties have been wooing the remaining allies in the NDA such as the PMK who fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election together, but the coalition won only one out of the 39 parliamentary seats.
PMK had been in talks with the AIADMK as well as the BJP but announced their decision on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state on a two-day visit.
“PMK founder S Ramadoss announced at the high-level committee meeting that the party will face the Lok Sabha polls in an alliance with the BJP,” PMK general secretary Vadivel Ravanan told reporters.
Expelled AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam also joined the BJP a week ago besides former Union minister’s GK Vasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress.
Also Read: Dhinakaran’s AMMK to contest Lok Sabha polls in alliance with BJP in Tamil Nadu
Despite its poor show in the electoral fray in the past decade, PMK retains clout in matters of alliance because of their dominating influence in the Vanniyar community- their core vote bank- in Tamil Nadu’s western and northern belt.
Ahead of the 2019 parliamentary elections, the AIADMK- BJP stitched together an alliance with PMK along with late actor-politician Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT).
The alliance was humiliated by winning just one seat managed by the AIADMK.
PMK’s vote share was 5.4% higher than BJP’s 3.6%.
In 2016 assembly polls, PMK went solo projecting their leader and former union minister Anbumani Ramadoss as their chief ministerial candidate, but it drew a blank with only 5.3% of vote share.
Ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, the AIADMK led by then chief minister Edappadi K Palamiswamy accepted the PMK’s demand of providing a 20% sub-quota reservation for the Vanniyar community in education and government jobs. The alliance lost to the DMK’s coalition.
