The NDA's seat-share pact for the April 23 Tamil Nadu Assembly elecctions reveals that the AIADMK, which leads the alliance, appears to be shying away from engaging in a direct battle with actor-politician and TVK leader Vijay.
Under the seat-sharing arrangement announced last night (March 24), the BJP will contest 27 constituencies, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) 18, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) 11 and smaller allies the rest. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who heads the alliance, declared that his party would contest the remaining 169 seats directly.
Perambur constituency
This comes amid intense speculation over Vijay's electoral strategy. Reliable sources indicate that he is likely to make his electoral debut from the Perambur constituency in Chennai. The AIADMK chose not to contest this seat directly, ceding it instead to its alliance partner, the PMK.
Perambur, a traditional DMK stronghold in north Chennai bordering Chief Minister MK Stalin’s Kolathur Assembly seat, is seen as a symbolic battleground that could define TVK’s challenge to the ruling party.
No ticket for K Annamalai
At the other end of the spectrum, former BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai, who had expressed interest in contesting from Coimbatore’s Singanallur constituency, has been left stranded.
The seat was not allotted to the BJP. Annamalai flew to Chennai from Coimbatore on Monday and met Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the BJP’s Tamil Nadu election in-charge.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, a visibly disillusioned Annamalai said: “I have not asked anyone for a seat. I am just doing my work as a party worker.” When pressed on about contesting if the party leadership directed him to do so, he sidestepped the question and walked away, saying, “We will speak about it later.” Political observers interpret the development as a clear signal that Annamalai remains persona non grata with the AIADMK leadership despite the NDA.
In a further indication of the internal dynamics within the NDA, BJP’s sitting MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, who contested and won Coimbatore South in 2021, has been shifted to Coimbatore North this time.
BJP gets more seats
The seat-sharing pact marks a notable increase in the number of seats allotted to the BJP, which had contested 20 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls, as part of the then-AIADMK alliance. That time it won four: Nagarkovil, Moddakurichi, Coimbatore South and Tirunelveli.
This time the party has been given 27 seats.
Senior journalist Priyan, who closely tracks Tamil Nadu politics, remarked, “The BJP has got what it wanted. With 27 seats against 20 in 2021, it is clear that Edappadi Palaniswami has yielded to the BJP high command.”
AIADMK not taking on these DMK ministers
Interestingly, the AIADMK has refrained from fielding candidates against 14 sitting DMK ministers, instead, they have allocated these constituencies to its NDA partners.
The DMK ministers, who the AIADMK is not engaging in a direct fight in the assembly elections are: Anitha Radhakrishanan (Tiruchendur), EV Velu (Tiruvannamalai), SM Nasar (Avadi), Mano Thangaraj (Padmanapapuram), KN Nehru (Tiruchi West), TRB Rajaa (Mannargudi), Periyakarthuppan (Tiruppathur), M Mathivendhan (Rasipuram), Ma Subramanian, current health minister (Saidapet), R Sakkarapani (Ottanchatram), S Muthusamy (Erode West), R Gandhi (Ranipet) and S S Sivasankar (Thinnam).
The Speaker of the Assembly, M Appavu, has also been spared a direct AIADMK challenge; his Radhapuram seat has been given to the BJP.
BJP's 27 seats
The BJP’s 27 seats, however, include several high-profile and symbolically important constituencies: Mylapore (where former governor Tamilisai Soundararajan is tipped to contest), Udhagamandalam (The Nilgiris), Avinashi (where Union Minister L Murugan is tipped to contest) Coimbatore North, Kandharvakottai, Pudukkottai, Madurai South, Sathur, Tiruchendur, Vasudevanallur, Radhapuram, Nagarkovil, Vilavankodu, Avadi, Tirumalai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Aranthangi, Manamadurai, Ramanathapuram, Kulachal, Padmanabhapuram and Rasipuram. The party will also contest five SC member constituencies in total.
Smaller parties
The PMK has been allotted 18 seats, including Salem West, Dharmapuri, Pennagaram, Vikravandi, Cholingar, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruporur, Uthiramerur, Jayankondam, Polur, Chengam, Virudhachalam, Rishivandiyam, Kattumannarkoil, Keelvelur, Perambur, Salem North and Ambattur.
AMMK will contest 11 seats: Periyakulam, Mannargudi, Thiruvaiyaru, Karaikudi, Tirupattur, Nanguneri, Ottapidaram, Tiruchi West, Saidapet, Poonamalli and Madathukulam.
Tamilaga Makkal Katchi (TMC) gets five: Ottanchatram, Erode West, Ranipet, Killiyur and Kumbakonam.
Indian Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) has two seats (including Pallavaram and Thinnam), while smaller allies have others.
Poovai Jeganmurthy, the sitting MLA from the KV Kuppam constituency, openly voiced his unhappiness with the seat-sharing announcement. “What we expected was different, what happened today is different,” he said. The constituency, previously held by the AIADMK has now been allotted as a single-member seat to the smaller ally Puratchi Bharatham, leaving the incumbent legislator and his cadre sidelined in the final pact.
In Chennai, where the BJP had aggressively sought a larger share, it has secured only Mylapore. The party had pushed for Velachery, Chennai Harbour and Valasaravakkam but had to settle for the single seat.
Under AIADMK banner
The AIADMK has also chosen not to contest directly in one seat in Kanniyakumari district and has handed over several former BJP-won seats such as Tirunelveli and Coimbatore South back to its ally for this round. Former BJP MLA Nainar Nagendran, who won Tirunelveli in 2021, is reportedly shifting to Sathur, where the Mukkulathor community dominates.
With the NDA now fully stitched together under the AIADMK banner, Palaniswami expressed confidence that the alliance would cross the 200-seat mark and unseat the DMK government. The formal list of candidates from each party is expected to be finalised in the coming days.
