Tamil Nadu polls: BJP seeks seat swaps with AIADMK

CHENNAI/TRICHY: BJP has reached out to AIADMK, seeking a swap of five constituencies to accommodate key leaders, including K Annamalai, M Venkatesan, K T Raghavan, and K Vasantha Rajan, amid growing unease within the party over the current seat allocation.

Protests have been reported in T Nagar, Coimbatore and Palani, with cadres questioning the choice of constituencies allotted to the party. Party sources said Vasantha Rajan is being considered for Kinathukadavu in Coimbatore district, a seat which has been allotted to AIADMK MLA S Damodharan. "We have asked for Chengalpattu for K T Raghavan, and Egmore for writer Venkatesan," said a senior BJP leader. In all these constituencies DMK has fielded its candidates.

As for Annamalai, discussions are under way to secure a suitable constituency for him in Coimbatore, Karur or elsewhere. "Talks are ongoing, and we may know by Sunday how many seats will be swapped," a state-level BJP functionary said.

Annamalai was earlier expected to contest from Singanallur or Kavundampalayam in Coimbatore, or Aravakurichi in Karur. None of these constituencies were allotted to BJP in its seat-sharing arrangement with AIADMK. The allocation has triggered criticism within party circles, with concerns that several DMK strongholds have been assigned to BJP, forcing its candidates to take on as many as 13 DMK ministers, including E V Velu and Anitha Radhakrishnan.

The unease is not limited to BJP. Sources in AIADMK said there have been internal representations seeking swapping of seats with BJP. A proposal has been conveyed through Viralimalai MLA and former minister C Vijayabaskar, they said.

The distribution of seats has also raised questions over district-wise allocation. BJP has been allotted three seats in Pudukkottai district, while in Coimbatore where the party is seen to have stronger prospects, it has secured only one. While Pudukkottai was expected to go to the BJP following Union home minister Amit Shah's visit in Jan for the final leg of Nagendran's statewide campaign, the allocation of Aranthangi and Gandarvakottai (reserved) constituencies came as a surprise.

On Saturday evening, a section of AIADMK functionaries from Aranthangi gathered outside Edappadi K Palaniswami's residence in Chennai to protest. "We have a better chance of winning in both Aranthangi and Gandarvakottai constituencies as we have already won there in 2011 and 2016 elections," said a functionary.

Meanwhile, AIADMK is yet to announce its candidate for Alangudi constituency due to a stalemate over selecting a nominee matching local community equations, sources added.