OPS faction submits wish list of 15 seats to BJP; AMMK announces tieup with national party
A host of Lok Sabha constituencies representing all regions of the State forms part of the wish list of 15 seats submitted by the group headed by O. Panneerselvam, the AIADMK’s expelled coordinator, to the BJP, which is seeking to lead an alliance for the 2024 polls. The group has been named the ‘AIADMK Workers Rights Retrieval Committee’.
Central Chennai, Arani and Sriperumbudur in the north; Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Nagapattinam in the central region; Salem, Coimbatore and Namakkal in the west and Sivaganga, Madurai, Theni, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram in the south are among the constituencies identified by the Panneerselvam group, which has held interviews with aspirants, according to senior leaders of the camp.
On Sunday night, Mr. Panneerselvam, accompanied by his colleagues, met a team of BJP leaders comprising Kishan Reddy, Gen (retd.) V.K. Singh, L. Murugan and K. Annamalai.
More discussions
Refusing to divulge details regarding the number of seats and the names of the constituencies sought, Mr. Panneerselvam said that he had presented his wishlist to the BJP. He expressed hope that there would be another round of discussions shortly.
It is expected that the contours of the BJP’s coalition would be made public during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Salem later this week.
Meanwhile, a senior leader of the AIADMK conceded that the stalemate over talks with the PMK and the DMDK continued, and that there would be clarity on the situation in a few days.
The AIADMK leadership’s unwillingness to allot a Rajya Sabha seat to either of the parties is being cited as one of the factors holding up the process of seat sharing. As far as the Dravidian major is concerned, the current strength of the party in the legislature can ensure only one person’s election to the Upper House smoothly.
AMMK to ally with BJP AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran said that his party will contest the Lok Sabha election in an alliance with the BJP.
Addressing the media in Tiruchi, he said that the AMMK had extended “unconditional support” to the BJP. There was no issue with regard to seat sharing, as the BJP already knew the AMMK’s requirement, Mr. Dhinakaran said, adding that he had been in touch with the Stateand nationallevel officebearers of the BJP over the past two to three months.
The main issue in the Lok Sabha election was who should become the Prime Minister. The AMMK would work like a ‘squirrel’ to help the BJP alliance bag more seats in Tamil Nadu, he said.
There was no pressure on his party to contest the poll on the BJP’s lotus symbol, Mr. Dhinakaran said, and termed such reports “lies” and “rumours”.
The AMMK was a regional party, and the cooker symbol had been allotted to it by the Election Commission. The AMMK would contest on its own symbol, he said.
Ex-MLA switches sides
Advocate and former Mylapore MLA from the AIADMK, R. Rajalakshmi, on Monday joined the BJP in the presence of Mr. Reddy, Mr. Singh, Mr. Annamalai and BJP national coincharge of Tamil Nadu Arvind Menon.
Ms. Rajalakshmi was earlier with the camp led by Mr. Panneerselvam.
Addressing the media, she said that the AIADMK’s direction had changed after the demise of Jayalalithaa. She said that she had joined the BJP as she was attracted by the policies of Mr. Modi.