National parties find it hard to get seats in TN

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s ruling Anna DMK as well as the main opposition DMK on Friday released their first list of candidates for the April 6 election to the state legislature. The lists come even when talks that both parties have with major partners remain inconclusive.

The national parties find the fight for seats a tough task, with the Dravidian majors giving a cold shoulder. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hasn’t yet settled for the 21 seats that the ADMK has offered, because it is only a third place below the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which has 23. The BJP, which originally had drawn up a list of 60 seats, is now ready to agree for 24, establishing an edge.

In the Dmk-led front, the other national party, the Congress, is pressing for more seats. They had demanded at least 40, but the DMK offered just 15 and is ready to raise it “a bit.” However, the Congress is not satisfied.

The reality is that neither the BJP nor the Congress is relevant in Tamil Nadu politics. The Congress was thrown out of power in the anti-hindi agitation of the 1960s and has never tasted power in the state. The BJP is seen as a Hindi party run by anti-south castes.

On Friday, the ADMK announced that Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy will contest from his hometown Edappadi, while his deputy O.

Panneselvam will run in Bodinayakannur. “Ministers Jayakumar in Royapuram, Shanmugam in Villupuram, S P Shanmuganathan from Srivaikuntam and S Thenmoli from Nilakottai,” a party release said.

DMK president M K Stalin said the candidate list will be released on March 10. The party on Thursday finalised the seat-sharing agreement with Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) by allotting six seats to it.

The DMK’S minor ally Indian Union Muslim League gets three seats while the MMK has been given two. The MDMK has been allotted four. However, apart from the Congress, the two Communist parties are also upset that they have been offered only a low number of seats. Each Communist party wants 10 each, but the DMK has allotted only four each.