Chennai: The AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance has finalized its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, with Edappadi K. Palaniswami announcing the allocation of constituencies to alliance partners. The agreement was formally signed today at the AIADMK headquarters in Royapettah, Chennai, in the presence of leaders from all alliance parties.
Seat allocation details
Under the finalized pact, the BJP has been allocated 27 constituencies to contest in the April 23 polls. The PMK, led by Anbumani Ramadoss, has been allotted 18 seats, while TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK will contest in 11 constituencies. The allocation represents a significant shift from the 2021 seat-sharing formula within the AIADMK-BJP alliance, when the PMK had been allocated 23 seats and the BJP 20.
Piyush Goyal, the BJP’s central in-charge for Tamil Nadu, arrived in Chennai today and visited the AIADMK headquarters along with state BJP leaders including Nainar Nagendran and L. Murugan. AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran and PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss also arrived at the venue for the signing of the NDA alliance agreement. The pact was formally signed by the alliance partners in the presence of AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who then officially announced the seat allocation.
Delhi consultations
A few days ago, Edappadi Palaniswami had traveled to Delhi and held consultations at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence to finalize the seat-sharing arrangements. These discussions paved the way for today’s formal signing ceremony in Chennai.
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for April 23, both the DMK-led front and the AIADMK-led NDA are now intensifying their election campaign activities following the finalization of their respective alliance agreements.