Palaniswami meets Shah in Delhi to discuss sharing of seats

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday night met the Union Home Minister and BJP strategist, Amit Shah, for finalising the seat-sharing arrangements for the April 23 Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

It is likely that Mr. Palaniswami would brief the media on his discussions on Friday.

Meanwhile, AMMK founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran would leave for New Delhi on Friday morning, possibly to take part in the deliberations. PMK leader R. Anbumani is also expected to go to New Delhi.

There have been reports that the AIADMK would contest 165 seats; the BJP 27; the PMK 17; the AMMK 9; and the Tamil Maanila Congress 3.

In 13 constituencies, smaller allies would field their nominees on the symbol of the AIADMK. Though leaders of the AIADMK and the BJP, speaking privately, deny any such understanding, there has not been any formal denial from any of the parties.

In 2021, the BJP and the PMK contested 20 and 23 seats, respectively, of which they won four and five seats, respectively.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election when the BJP and the AIADMK contested separately, the former had finished second in many Assembly segments, ahead of the latter.