Chennai: Though most of the negotiations between parties on poll related agreements have been completed, the final picture on the battle lines have not yet emerged in the Tamil Nadu electoral scene due to some minor hitches that are impeding the leaders of the three major coalitions from finalizing their constituency allocations and selection of candidates.
Since the speculation is that the announcement for the Lok Sabha elections could be expected in less than a fortnight, the major alliances, led by the DMK, AIADMK and BJP, would like to wrap up the extensive talks they have been holding with the allies for some time and devise the strategy for the electoral battle before the Election Commission of India sounds the bugle though they are now struggling with the process.
Among the political parties that are playing truant are the PMK and the DMDK that are reportedly not giving their word to the prospective alliance leaders. PMK is in regular talks with the BJP at the State level and the DMDK had evinced interest in aligning with the AIADMK. Taking advantage of the fact that both the coalitions are looking out for allies, the PMK and DMDK are said to be bargaining for more benefits that they feel would catapult them into the higher realms of State politics.
Initially both the parties had asked for future nominations to the Rajya Sabha from the alliance leaders. After that, they are said to have set their eyes on the next Assembly elections in 2026 and are trying to strike advanced deals.
Whatever it is, with the top honchos of both the PMK and DMDK not involved in the negotiations, the talks are dragging on for a long time with no meeting point in sight.
The DMK camp that has already completed most of the alliance talks amicably faces the problem of seat allocation with the Congress. With certain constituencies becoming the bone of contention between two, or sometimes three parties, the DMK is unable to take the final call.
DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin had a discussion with his party’s team that has been entrusted with the task of seat sharing with the allies and had urged the members to consider the demands of the Congress while finalizing the seat allocation.
Even the State BJP leaders want the PMK to give its final word as they would like to line up the prospective candidates of the coalition at the meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai next week.
Without drawing the final battle line up in each of the 40 constituencies (including Puducherry), it is even difficult to predict the election outcome. For, the identity of the candidate and the name of the party play big roles in people’s electoral choices.
