Day after PM’s visit, EPS meets Shah in Delhi for seat sharing talks

Chennai: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Tamil Nadu visit, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami flew to New Delhi and held a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday night to discuss seat sharing.EPS, who reached Delhi by noon, met Shah around 9 pm after the latter returned from West Bengal. Discussions during the two hour meeting focused on the broad framework for dividing seats between AIADMK and BJP, which was proposed by EPS to Union minister Piyush Goyal during their meeting in Madurai on Sunday.
At the Madurai meeting, AIADMK had proposed that BJP could take 35 seats and distribute some of those seats to AMMK. AIADMK would then negotiate with other partners. According to AIADMK sources, the proposal included offering 18 seats and a Rajya Sabha berth to the PMK faction led by its president Anbumani Ramadoss. For smaller allies such as Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, Puthiya Neethi Katchi and the Tamil Maanila Congress, AIADMK's idea was to allot a specific number of seats and have them contest on the party's ‘Two Leaves' symbol. TMC had resisted this plan and wanted to contest on its own symbol. However, BJP leaders pointed out that these parties were part of the BJP-led NDA in 2024 and should therefore be accommodated within the BJP's quota. To factor them in, BJP is said to have sought more than the 35 seats proposed by AIADMK, with plans to have some allies contest on the ‘Lotus' symbol. Differences have also emerged over constituency preferences, with BJP eyeing seats that AIADMK considers traditional stronghold, including Singanallur, Tiruppur South, Palani, T Nagar and Mylapore. Sources said EPS's Delhi meeting was aimed at ironing out these differences. "It is true that there is a conflict of interest over a few constituencies. All the details have been shared with Amit Shah, and he will take the final call," said a senior BJP leader. He said the issues were expected to be resolved within two or three days.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !