Tamil Nadu polls: GK Vasan gets 5 seats, set to contest in BJP’s symbol

CHENNAI: The AIADMK on Tuesday allocated five seats to G K Vasan's Tamil Maanila Congress and one seat each to K C Thirumaran's South India Forward Bloc and John Pandian's Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.

Vasan, after emerging from the seat-sharing talks, said his party had been allotted Oddanchaithram, Ranipet, Kiliyur, Erode West and Kumbakonam, and that candidates would contest on the BJP's ‘Lotus' symbol. Similarly, Thirumaran said his party would contest on the BJP symbol in the lone seat allocated to it.

``There were some issues in getting the Cycle symbol allotted to us. So we decided to go with a popular symbol. SInce I am directly aligned with BJP in NDA, I chose to contest in Lotus Symbol,'' Vasan told TOI.

The announcement followed over an hour-long discussion between BJP Tamil Nadu in-charge Piyush Goyal and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami at the latter's residence before Goyal returned to Delhi. Though AIADMK had finalised seats with BJP, PMK and AMMK on Monday, TMC was left out apparently due to difference over the number of seats.

With this, the total number of candidates contesting on the Lotus symbol has gone up to 33 so far, making it the third largest symbol in which candidates would be fielded in TN, after DMK's Rising Sun and AIADMK's Two Leaves. Of this, 27 will be BJP candidates. BJP has emerged the second-largest constituent in AIADMK front, followed by Anbumani-headed PMK and T T V Dhinakaran's AMMK following suit.

Talks with Puratchi Bharatham party leader Poovai Jaganmurthy, who contested on the AIADMK symbol in 2021, Porkodi Armstrong of Tamil Nadu Bahujan Samaj Katchi, A C Shanmugam of Puthiya Needhi Katchi and T R Paarivendhar of Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi are yet to be concluded. "Shanmugam is likely to get two seats and he has expressed willingness to field candidates on the BJP symbol. This will further increase the number of seats contested by the BJP," said a source privy to the seat-sharing talks.

Earlier in the day, Palaniswami told reporters that seat-sharing talks and the candidate list would be released within the next two days. He is set to kick-start his election campaign in the Mylapore constituency on Wednesday, aiming to build on the momentum generated by the swift seat-sharing exercise and the release of the manifesto earlier this week.