New Delhi: NDA holds 1st round of seat-sharing talks in TN
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu, led by opposition heavyweight All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Tuesday held its first round of seat-sharing talks after Union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal arrived in Chennai, in his first visit since he was appointed election-in-charge in the state.
Goyal and AIADMK general secretary Eddapadi K Palaniswami (EPS) both told reporters that they discussed plans for the 2026 assembly elections to unseat the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) but did not disclose the number of seats that were negotiated.
“The meeting (which was held at a private hotel) went on for an hour but numbers have not been finalised yet,” said a BJP leader who attended the meeting. “Both parties have exchanged a list of constituencies they want to contest in.”
Goyal was accompanied by five senior BJP leaders — Tamil Nadu state president Nainar Nagendran, Union ministers of State Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan, national secretary Arvind Menon and national co-incharge of the state, Sudhakar Reddy.
EPS led the discussions with his close aides S P Velumani, K P Munusamy and P Thangamani. “AIADMK has offered a slightly higher number of seats to the BJP this time but they are expecting more,” said an AIADMK leader.
“We had a good discussion on strengthening our political work together, about fighting the 2026 assembly elections as an NDA family. Under the leadership and guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NDA will have a sweeping victory. We have discussed various plans for the coming few months,” Goyal told reporters in a joint press conference along with the AIADMK. “Tamil Nadu has suffered under the corrupt regime of the DMK. It is important for people of Tamil Nadu to get good governance, a government which is development-focused, provides for a better future for women, youth, farmers, fishermen, MSMEs, traders for Tamil Nadu. It is the commitment of the NDA, PM Modi and our leader in TN Edappadi Palaniswami.”
In the 2021 assembly elections, AIADMK contested in 179 seats out of the 234 and offered 23 seats to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), followed by 20 seats to the BJP, which also put up a party candidate for the Lok Sabha bypoll in Kanyakumari. The remaining seats went to smaller allies. The election eventually concluded with a victory for the DMK, led by current chief minister MK Stalin.
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