Chennai: The AIADMK on Tuesday forged a rainbow coalition by sealing seat-sharing pacts with the BJP and the PMK and looking set to complete the entire process with the rest of the allies anytime now, even as the rival DMK-Congress camp meandered through multiple sessions in Delhi. The BJP got five seats and is said to be bargaining for one Rajya Sabha seat too for its national secretary H. Raja, while the PMK has been given seven LS seats and one Rajya Sabha berth.
Announcing it as a “mega alliance and a victorious coalition”, Union Minister and BJP senior Piyush Goyal and AIADMK coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam told a crowded media conference at a star hotel here that they were confident of winning all the 40 seats, including the lone Lok Sabha constituency in Puducherry.
“I am extremely delighted that today the AIADMK and the BJP have concluded very fruitful discussions and we have agreed to contest the Parliament elections in both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the bypolls in 21 Assembly seats together in alliance”, said Goyal, who is in charge of BJP affairs in Tamil Nadu.
The alliance would be under the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu while at the national level, it would function as part of the NDA led by “visionary leader” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Goyal, while repeatedly invoking the name of “honourable Amma” Jayalalithaa.
“Together, we want to continue the legacy and good work done by Amma for the people of Tamil Nadu”, said the BJP leader.
Earlier in the day, the AIADMK had sealed the poll pact with the PMK at the same hotel. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam represented the ruling party while PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss and his son Dr Anbumani inked the agreement for their party.
It was a master stroke, mostly maneuvered by senior ministers Thangamani and Velumani, as the AIADMK has got an undertaking from the PMK to support the ruling party in the by-polls to 21 Assembly constituencies, thereby vastly strengthening the prospects of survival of the government that needs five more seats to gain majority in the 234-strong House.
Besides, the PMK has considerable influence in the Vanniyar-dominated north and west regions that account for 17 seats in the Parliament polls. And by clinching the PMK support in the by-elections, it has now become clear that decks are cleared for the Election Commission to announce the polls and thus end the criticism from the opposition parties that it is deliberately delaying these by-polls only to save the Edappadi government under instructions from the saffron leadership.
With the PMK taking seven LS seats and the BJP allotted five, the AIADMK is likely to keep 23-25 seats after giving the remaining (out of the total 39 in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry) to midget allies to contest on its ‘two-leaves’ symbol — Indh
The case of ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth and his DMDK remain unclear amid reports that neither the AIADMK nor the BJP are too keen on matching the hefty demands from the party that has hugely lost on its popularity and a leader whose health does not permit any campaign efforts.
Nevertheless, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in charge of the BJP affairs in Tamil Nadu, carried a bouquet of flowers to ‘Captain’ at his Saligramam bungalow and later told reporters it was “just a courtesy call to wish him good health”.
“Not everything in life is about alliances and politics. Some things are about human relationships also”, philosophised Goyal. That was in stark contrast to the exuberance he had shown at his media meet along with EPS-OPS and the big teams of the AIADMK-BJP gathered at the Crown Plaza venue for sealing the poll pact with the TN ruling party.
