Fissures in AIADMK, DMDK over seat-sharing
DMDK had demanded 20 seats, but AIADMK wanted it to settle for 11
Ahead of the Assembly elections, fissures seem to have erupted between the ruling AIADMK and the DMDK over the seat-sharing pact in Tamil Nadu. DMDK, which is helmed by the popular actor Vijayakanth has a solid base in various parts of the state. It had a vote share of around 6 per cent in the last Assembly elections. However, following some internal rift and Vijayakanth's inactiveness has lead to a lull in the party's overall rating.
Notably, AIADMK and BJP had sought an alliance with the DMDK in the beginning but of late lost the clout in the political hemisphere of the state. While, the DMDK had demanded 20 seats, the AIADMK, on the other hand, wanted it to settle for 11 seats, which the former rejected leading to a major fissures between the two parties.
The DMDK has now threatened the AIADMK to contest alone if the demand for allotment of 20 seats are not met.
DMDK Treasurer and wife of Vijayakanth, Premalatha Vijayakanth has called upon the AIADMK leadership to allot the party seats at par with the PMK. The AIADMK had provided 23 seats to the PMK and announced 10.5% jobs reservation for the Vanniyar community in govt sectors under the most backward quota, which was being earlier opposed by the DMDK.