With about a month left for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the political battle has clearly taken shape. The AIADMK has begun moving quickly to gain an early advantage over the ruling DMK alliance by finalising seat-sharing arrangements, identifying constituencies for itself and allies, and formally entering campaign mode.
The AIADMK, led by Edappadi K Palaniswami and heading the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu, is preparing to challenge the DMK in several urban constituencies that are traditionally considered strongholds of the ruling party. The Assembly elections will be held on April 23, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.
Setting an ambitious target of winning more than 210 of the 234 Assembly seats, the AIADMK has announced that it will contest 169 constituencies, leaving the remaining seats for its alliance partners. The DMK, meanwhile, has geared up its election machinery in about 175 constituencies and has set a goal of securing over 200 seats.
The DMK has declared that its ‘Rising Sun’ symbol will be used in 175 Assembly constituencies, indicating that several smaller alliance partners will also contest under the ruling party’s election symbol.
The AIADMK is planning a direct contest with the DMK in nearly 13 of the 16 constituencies in Chennai. The city has elected several prominent DMK leaders, including Chief Minister M K Stalin, his son and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Health Minister Ma Subramanian and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu.
In Chennai, the AIADMK has allotted three seats to its allies while retaining 13 constituencies for itself. The party has also released its first list of candidates, with Palaniswami set to contest again from Edappadi in Salem district. Several former ministers, sitting MLAs and former legislators have also been fielded.
Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi has decided to contest all Assembly constituencies. Actor-politician Vijay is also preparing to announce candidates for all 234 seats under his TVK party, adding further excitement to the electoral contest.
Vijay, a leading film star with a massive fan following, is expected to begin campaigning later this week. Along with Seeman, he represents one of the few film personalities directly challenging the dominant Dravidian parties, both of which are backed by large alliances.
Within the AIADMK-led NDA alliance, the BJP will contest 27 seats, PMK 18 seats, AMMK 11 seats and TMC (M) five seats under the BJP’s Lotus symbol. Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi will contest two seats, while Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and Puratchi Bharatham have received one seat each. In total, the AIADMK has allocated 65 seats to its allies. The AIADMK itself has retained the majority share, contesting from 169 constituencies.
Palaniswami finalised seat-sharing agreements with seven alliance partners within two days starting March 23. On March 25, he announced constituency allocations and officially launched the NDA campaign from Mylapore in Chennai, where the BJP is contesting.
In the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, Congress will contest 28 seats, DMDK 10 seats, VCK eight seats and the Left parties five seats each. MDMK has been allotted four seats, while SDPI and Mukkulathor Puli Padai Katchi will contest one seat each under the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol. Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi has also received one seat.
The DMK has allotted two seats each to IUML, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi. Both KMDK and MMK will contest under the DMK’s symbol, while MDMK will use the Rising Sun symbol in three of the four seats given to it.
The election campaign is expected to intensify from next week, with the filing of nomination papers scheduled to begin on March 30.
Also read: Half the voters, few women candidates in Kerala
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