Realignments Portended For TN Polls

Chennai: The Secular Progressive Alliance, led by the DMK in Tamil Nadu, might break since long-time partner CPM refused to turn up for the seat sharing meeting in Chennai on Wednesday and another major partner, the VCK, was playing truant by demanding seats on par with the DMDK, though the CPI agreed to take a cut and settled for five seats, one less than the previous time.

Breaking a tradition of the CPI and CPM normally travelling together in the political highway, CPI State secretary M Veerapandian signed an agreement with DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin when the CPM leaders refused to turn up for the meeting without knowing the number of seats that would be allotted to them and insisting on no reduction.

The resentment of the CPM over seat sharing might drive it towards the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of Vijay, which would change the political equations during the elections, it is feared. Even in the NDA, everything is in a state of flux since the allies have not agreed on seat sharing, which is expected to be finalized when BJP leader Piyush Goel visits Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

In the DMK camp, the VCK’s demand for seats on par with the DMDK could be acceded to as the constituencies earmarked for the CPM earlier would be free for redistribution. Chances of VCK moving out of the alliance are also remote as it cannot align with the AIADMK since the BJP is hooked with it and is unlikely to tie up with the TVK given the present situation.

Though talks between BJP and AIADMK have reached a crucial stage, the BJP’s insistence on contesting from certain seats in which the party had polled substantial votes in the past had thrown the spanner into the wheels of the alliance talks. Whatever, party sources claimed that once Goel arrived in Chennai on Thursday, everything would be sorted out and the final announcement on seat sharing could be made on Friday.

The political dynamics in the neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry might also change as Chief Minister and leader of the NR Congress, N Rangasamy, was seemingly avoiding the BJP call for meetings. Raising the demand for statehood for Puducherry, he is also objecting to the BJP’s move to include the LJK, the nascent party launched by Jose Charles Martin, son of lottery baron Santiago Martin from Tamil Nadu, into the alliance.

So, Rangaswamy could join hands with the TVK – a prominent leader of the TVK Bussy Anand, despite hailing from Puducherry, is only planning to contest the elections from Chennai and has no aspirations for posts in the Union Territory.

Whatever changes might come in the alliances, the parties would have to finalise the seat sharing and seat allocation processes soon to catch up with the filing of nominations that start on March 30 and ends on April 6 for the April 23 polls in Tamil Nadu. In Puducherry, where elections would be held on April 9, nominations close on March 23.