CHENNAI, 28 February, 2021, (TON):  The Election Commission of India’s on Friday announced the schedule of assembly polls for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala which triggered hectic discussions on seat sharing between the various parties in the two major alliances led by the Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK, on Saturday. 

Single phase elections to the 234-member assembly in Tamil Nadu will be held on April 6. 

BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu, including G. Kishan Reddy, L. Murugan and C.T. Ravi, too held talks with AIADMK leaders and demanded at least 25 seats for their party. It was indeed a big climb down as the BJP was initially asking for 40 seats. 

According to an unidentified official, the Pattali Makkal Katchi had demanded around 30 seats. 

The PMK, an ally of the AIADMK, was the only party that finalized its alliance by agreeing for 23 seats, which would be identified later on, and thanking the ruling party for bringing in the 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community. 

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the AIADMK also held discussions on sharing seats for the polls. Several BJP leaders, including state president L Murugan and Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit the state on Sunday. 

According to an unidentified official, AIADMK has offered about 15 seats to the BJP. 

The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is making an all-out bid to make inroads into the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, will contest the upcoming state assembly elections with its traditional ally, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). 

The BJP helms India’s federal government and runs governments in 17 of India’s 31 states and union territories, either on its own or in alliance with other parties. But in Tamil Nadu, it has negligible presence.