Chennai sources stated that the last fortnight has seen two major parties in Tamilnadu - AIADMK and the DMK scramble to finalize alliances. Meanwhile the AIADMK led ‘mega alliance’ has firmed up poll pacts with PMK, BJP, TMC, PT, New Justice Party and the NR Congress. If Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami manages to get Vijayakanth on board, the ruling party is likely to contest only from around 20 seats a sharp contrast to 2014 when Jayalalitha chose to go alone and ended up winning 37 out of 39 seats.
Furthermore the DMK, on the other hand, had maintained that they would contest from at least 25 seats. Reportedly on Tuesday, as talks concluded, it became clear that the party will be contesting only from 20 seats in Tamilnadu. Further the 40 seats including the lone seat in Puducherry has been divided among its eight allies Congress (10), CPI (2), CPI (M) (2), VCK (2), MDMK (1), IUML (1), KMDK (1) and IJK (1).
Moreover this decision by DMK President MK Stalin to cede ground to alliance partners has raised eyebrows in the state. Apparently some political commentators believe it shows that the party is clearly nervous about its prospects, others point that it is a cautious and crafty move considering the current political climate in the state.
