After a gap of 20 years, the ruling All India Anna Dravid Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) will together fight the Assembly elections in the State. On Saturday, both the parties finalised a seat sharing arrangement wherein the PMK will contest in 23 seats in the polls to be held on April 6.

In the last Assembly elections, the PMK went alone and lost all the seats. In 2001, it was part of the AIADMK alliance, contested in 27 seats and won 20. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, both the AIADMK and PMK were part of a grand alliance that included the BJP.

The seat-sharing arrangement was made by AIADMK’s Coordinator O Panneerselvam in the presence of Joint Coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami, PMK president GK Mani and PMK’s youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss.

Vital demand met

Ramadoss later told newspersons that the party accepted fewer seats as the AIADMK fulfilled a vital demand — provide 10.5 per cent internal reservation for the Vanniyar community — of the PMK. “EPS will become chief minister again,” he said. The list of constituencies allotted for the party would be announced later, he added.

On Friday, just before the Model Code of Conduct came into effect, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a Bill to provide 10.5 per cent reservation for Vanniyars in education and employment in the State. The internal reservation within the Most Backward Classes category was a key demand of the PMK to be part of the AIADMK alliance.

In a single-phase election, Tamil Nadu will go to polls on April 6 and the votes will be counted on May 2.

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