AIADMK, BJP poll allies in TN

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 19

A day after sealing the Maharashtra arrangement with the Shiv Sena, the BJP on Tuesday finalised alliance contours for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), settling for five of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the crucial block.

The other partner in the coalition — Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) — will contest seven seats.

Of the remaining 28, the AIADMK is expected to contest 25 seats, leaving the remaining three for Vijayakanth’s Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and some small allies. The DMDK, however, is eyeing a bigger share.

But what is certain as of now is that after weeks of negotiations, the BJP has managed to close the Tamil Nadu deal with the hope of expanding base in the state, where it only has a marginal presence and also gain support of regional satraps there. In those terms, even though it is not what it was trying for, it is not such a bad arrangement for the party.

The BJP had won just one of the 39 seats in the 2014 General Election (two if alliance partner PMK is also taken into account) and the AIADMK, under late J Jayalalithaa, swept the state winning as many as 37 seats.

According to Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the alliance will contest the Tamil Nadu elections under the leadership of the AIADMK and the General Election in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP will also support the AIADMK in the byelection to 21 Assembly seats. Earlier, the AIADMK announced alliance with the PMK, allotting it seven seats, including the lone seat of Puducherry.

However, the BJP was hoping for a 20-20 deal even though it agreed to an arrangement that left the major chunk for the ruling AIADMK. Sources said the saffron party was waiting for a positive sign from actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth, who on Sunday finally declared that he would not contest the Lok Sabha elections and that his target was Assembly elections.

“My support is not for any party. Hence no party should use my photo or my outfit’s logo in the campaign,” he said, closing the door on possibility of alliance with the BJP or anyone else.

As the BJP scrambles to form alliance with regional parties, it seems almost as a confirmation of pollsters’ claim of a fractured mandate in 2019, which the party vehemently negates.

First the JD (U), then the LJP and the Shiv Sena and now the AIADMK, the BJP appears to be ceding to regional parties. While the option of going solo may not possible even in strong states like Maharashtra and Bihar, leaders say it is better to enter an alliance before the elections than settle for post-poll arrangements to make up the numbers.

DMK, Cong slam alliance

Chennai: DMK chief MK Stalin on Tuesday flayed the AIADMK-PMK alliance, saying it was formed not for the benefit of the country, but for monetary gain. The state Congress also slammed the alliance, with TNCC president KS Alagiri saying he did not expect the PMK, which has always prided itself in fighting for the rights of the most backward classes, to forge an alliance with the BJP, “a party working for the forward communities”. PTI