AIADMK shifts to campaign mode as Tamil Nadu poll battle intensifies
With the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections nearing, AIADMK has switched to campaign mode after finalising seat-sharing with allies. The DMK-led alliance has also prepared its strategy, setting the stage for an intense electoral contest across the state
Chennai: With a month to go for Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the battle lines are clearly drawn and the AIADMK camp is making apparent efforts to get a head start ahead of the ruling DMK bloc by quickly finalising the seat-sharing deal, identifying constituencies for itself and allies, and switching to campaign mode.
The Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK, which leads the NDA in Tamil Nadu, will take on the DMK in certain urban centres considered to be the ruling party’s strongholds.
The Assembly polls will be held on April 23 and counting of votes will be taken up on May 4.
Determined to win over 210 out of the 234 Assembly constituencies in the state, the AIADMK has announced that it would contest from 169 seats, leaving the rest to allies, while the DMK has readied its poll machinery in as many as 175 constituencies. For its part, the Stalin-led party has set a target to secure over 200 seats.
DMK has announced that the ‘Rising Sun’ will be in the fray from 175 Assembly segments, indicating it would include smaller allies that would face the polls under the ruling party’s symbol.
The AIADMK would take on the DMK in about 13 out of the 16 constituencies in Chennai, which has been electing Chief Minister M K Stalin, his son and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi, Health Minister Ma Subramanian and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu, among other prominent leaders in the DMK.
The AIADMK has allotted three seats to its allies while retaining 13 in the city. It has also announced its first list of candidates, with Palaniswami testing his electoral fortunes once again from Edappadi in Salem district, while a number of former ministers and sitting and former MLAs are also in the fray.
While Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi is in the fray in all the constituencies, actor-politician Vijay is gearing up to announce his TVK party candidates for all 234 seats in the high-stakes poll battle.
Vijay, a top cinema star with a huge fan following, is likely to hit the campaign trail this week. Only these two leaders with a film background will take on the Dravidian majors, which are backed by numerous political parties, respectively, in the election.
The AIADMK-led NDA includes the BJP, which will contest from 27 seats. PMK will contest from 18 seats, AMMK from 11, and TMC (M) from five (on BJP’s Lotus symbol). Besides, Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi will field candidates from two seats, while Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and Puratchi Bharatham have been allotted one seat each. In all, AIADMK has apportioned 65 seats to its allies.
The Dravidian party has retained a lion’s share of seats, accounting for 169.
Palaniswami finalised the seat-sharing pact with seven political parties in two days, starting from March 23. On March 25, he announced the constituencies from where the allies would contest and launched the campaign for the NDA from Mylapore in Chennai, where the BJP is contesting.
In the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, the Congress will enter the poll fray from 28 seats, DMDK 10, VCK 8, Left parties 5 each, and MDMK 4, one seat each to SDPI, Mukkulathor Puli Padai Katchi (both parties contesting on the Rising Sun symbol) and Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi. The party has allotted two seats each to IUML, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK).
KMDK and MMK are set to contest polls under the DMK’s symbol. The MDMK will contest on the ‘Rising Sun’ symbol in three out of the four seats it has been given by the DMK.
The campaign is likely to intensify from next week, when the filing of nomination papers will formally commence on March 30.
