Union Minister Piyush Goyal is in Chennai holding crucial discussions with key allies of the National Democratic Alliance as part of efforts to firm up seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the upcoming elections.
Goyal has already met representatives of alliance partners, including the Tamil Maanila Congress and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, to discuss their expectations and roles within the alliance.
These meetings are seen as part of a broader exercise to ensure coordination among smaller allies and avoid last-minute disagreements.
He is also scheduled to meet Edappadi K. Palaniswami, leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a key player in the NDA’s Tamil Nadu strategy. The meeting is expected to focus on finalising seat-sharing formulas, campaign coordination, and leadership roles within the alliance.
Earlier, after more than a hour long meeting with BJP master poll strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at New Delhi Friday, Edappadi K Palaniswami, heading the NDA in Tamil Nadu for the high stakes April 23 Assembly elections, said there was no hitch among the NDA in partners over seat sharing.
Without disclosing on what had transpired in his meeting with Amit Shah though seat sharing issue was said to have been discussed in detail during the discussions. The AIADMK leader said the party’s manifesto for the polls would be released in a week’s time.
Separately, AMMK leader T. T. V. Dhinakaran met Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday.
Sources indicated that the discussions covered a range of electoral issues, including seat-sharing arrangements, constituency preferences, and the possibility of the AMMK contesting under its ‘pressure cooker’ symbol.
However, Dhinakaran played down the extent of these deliberations while speaking to reporters after the meeting.
“I did not discuss seat-sharing with Amit Shah. We only spoke about facing the elections in a united manner,” he said, underlining that alliance cohesion was the primary focus at this stage rather than specific negotiations.
Reiterating his stand on Sasikala, Dhinakaran said there was no intention to bring her into the alliance framework, effectively ruling out any immediate political role for the former AIADMK leader within the NDA fold.