Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Wednesday announced a five-member committee led by senior leader K.P Munusamy to hold seat-sharing talks with potential allies for the Lok Sabha election.
Electricity minister P. Thangamani, Local Administration minister SP Velumani, Rajya Sabha MP R. Vaithilingam and party organisation secretary JCD Prabhakar will be part of the panel, a party release said here.
The AIADMK has maintained it will take decisions on forging alliance during the run-up to the polls and now this Munusamyled panel is expected to set in motion the process. There are speculations that the party may align with the BJP for the Lok Sabha elections.
“We have not closed our doors for alliance. The doors are very much open. But who is to be included, who is not required, these decisions cannot be made by an individual,” senior minister D. Jayakumar had said on Tuesday.
In 2014, the AIADMK under the leadership of Jayalalithaa had contested all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in TN and won 37 of them. Smaller outfits like the Kongu Youth front, Mukkalthor Puli Padai, and Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi aligned with it in the 2016 Assembly polls.
Kongu outfit leader U. Thaniyarasu said that “we are in the AIADMK front...but we might consider the matter (on electoral ties with AIADMK) afresh in tune with the expectations of the people and opinions of party workers.”
Days after the arch rival DMK announced teams to hold seat-sharing talks with allies and draft poll manifesto, the AIADMK too had recently announced a 7-member panel headed by senior leader C. Ponnaiyan for drafting its election manifesto.
The Congress and IUML are already in the DMK’s camp and outfits like the CPI, CPI (M), Vaiko-led MDMK are likely to join hands with the Dravidian party to face the Lok Sabha polls.
PMK chief S. Ramadoss said on Jan 21 that he has so far not decided on the question of forging alliance for the Lok Sabha election.
