AIADMK-led NDA seat-sharing talks progressing smoothly, says Palaniswami

AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami stated that NDA seat-sharing talks in Tamil Nadu are proceeding smoothly, with an official announcement on constituencies expected within four days. He also dismissed any possibility of an alliance with Vijay's TVK.

NDA seat-sharing talks 'smooth'

After his second visit to Delhi this month, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami asserted that discussions on seat-sharing are progressing "smoothly" among the parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by his party in Tamil Nadu.

Indicating a critical moment towards the single-phase assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 23, the AIADMK leader said that an official announcement on the seat-sharing between alliance parties will be made in the coming days. "Discussions on seat-sharing are progressing smoothly among the parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. An official announcement detailing the constituencies allocated to each party will be made within four days," Palaniswami, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Tamil Nadu assembly, told reporters here.

No alliance with Vijay's TVK

He further ruled out the possibility of an alliance with actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). "No talks have been held with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam," Palaniswami said.

This comes after the TVK chief, during an Iftar party in Mamallapuram, said that his party will never compromise on its "secular" credentials and will form a government led by them, suggesting to contest the upcoming assembly polls independently. "We are the people's team. They tried a lot, but it didn't work out. Now they took a fake campaign that we will be going to this alliance and that alliance. I want to tell clearly that we are always with secular and social justice, and we will not compromise on it. The government will be led by us. Whoever spreads rumours, don't believe it. We can achieve our target for sure," Vijay said earlier on Wednesday.

Four-cornered contest in Tamil Nadu

Vijay's TVK is set to make his political debut in this election with his party, with competition from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) that includes Congress, Vijayakanth's DMDK, among others, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by AIADMK, including BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). In this four-cornered contest, the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) is also a crucial player, with the regional party contesting on all 234 assembly constituencies alone.

Election schedule and 2021 results

The ECI on Sunday announced that Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. The current tenure of the 234-member state assembly ends on May 10.

In the 2021 assembly polls, the ruling DMK won with 133 seats while AIADMK emerged victorious on 66 seats. Congress stood at 18 seats. The state witnessed a voter turnout of 76.6 per cent. (ANI)

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