Tamil Nadu elections: PMK to contest on 23 seats in alliance with AIADMK

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has allocated 23 seats to Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to contest Tamil Nadu Assembly polls 2021.

The announcement of the seat-sharing came after a discussion between AIADMK and PMK leaders at Chennai's Leela Palace hotel on Saturday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam attended the meeting from the AIADMK side and Anbumani Ramadoss, GK Mani participated in the meeting from PMK's side.

"'Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to contest 23 seats in alliance with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)," AIADMK tweeted on Saturday after the meeting.

Panneerselvam, Coordinator of AIADMK said, "AIADMK and PMK will jointly face assembly elections. In the AIADMK-led-alliance, PMK will get 23 seats. We have signed the seat-sharing agreement with PMK leaders."

"We have just discussed the number of seats and we will discuss the Constituencies later," he added.

It is pertinent to note that PMK drew a blank in both the 2016 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha election. At present, it has a lone MP in the Rajya Sabha- former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

The 234- members Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be held in a single phase on April 6 and the counting of votes will be done on May 2.

Ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is contesting the poll sin a pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has joined hands with Congress. This time actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan's party Makkal Neethi Maiam (MNM) is also in the fray.