Chennai: AIADMK and BJP are inching closer to finalising a seat-sharing arrangement for the assembly polls, with the saffron party likely to settle for 29 seats.Though formal seat-sharing talks within the AIADMK-led NDA are yet to begin, sources from AIADMK and BJP said the broad contours of the deal have been worked out. As per the proposal, BJP would be allotted 29 seats, T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK nine and PMK 18. Smaller allies may get one or two seats each. A senior AIADMK functionary confirmed that his party and BJP have broadly agreed on the arrangement, adding that the formal talks would take place after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s NDA rally in Trichy on March 11. “The official talks may be held around March 14,” the functionary said.Union minister Piyush Goyal had begun the talks with a wish list of 60 seats, but the party eventually scaled down its demand to 30. To persuade BJP to accept 29 seats, AIADMK has promised to give them ‘favourable’ seats. AIADMK leaders attributed the delay in seat-sharing talks to BJP’s renewed efforts to reach out to TVK. “If the efforts pay off, every partner may have to scale down the number of seats from their share. For now, the AIADMK is keen on contesting around 170 seats,” said the source in the AIADMK camp.While AMMK had sought 13 seats, AIADMK said the party could be allotted only nine — Sholinghur, Andipatti, Ottapidaram, Nanguneri, Pudukkottai, Harur, Melur, Papanasam and Musiri. BJP would be made an overall allocation of 38 seats, including the AMMK’s quota of nine, said an AIADMK functionary privy to the negotiations.PMK would likely receive 18 seats according to the formula, while two seats each have been earmarked for smaller allies such as G K Vasan’s Tamil Maanila Congress, B John Pandian’s Tamizha Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, and T R Paarivendhar’s Indiya Jananayaga Katchi.“We are proposing that the smaller parties contest on the ‘two-leaves’ symbol to improve their winning prospects, while BJP is keen on fielding minor parties’ candidates on ‘lotus’ symbol to increase its tally. But the final call rests with the partners,” the AIADMK leader said.
