In TN, SDPI ditches Kamal Haasan's MNM, forges alliance with AMMK; to contest in 6 seats

In the run-up to the Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Thursday confirmed that it has forged an alliance with the Dhinakaran-led AMMK. This comes just a day after the SDPI was reported to have sealed a seat-sharing pact with the Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) for the Assembly elections. Now, the SDPI has affirmed that it will contest the polls in an alliance with the AMMK in 6 constituencies - Alandhur, Ambur, Trichy west, Thiruvarur, Madurai Central and Palayankotai.

The six seats bagged by the SDPI is relatively much lesser than the 18 offered by Hassan's MNM. Despite MNM offering more number of seats, SDPI has decided to settle for less with the AMMK. Notably, the AMMK is contesting the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections in an alliance with  Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Marudhu Sennai Sangam - which will contest on one seat. Apart from offering SDPI 6 seats, the Dhinakaran-led AMMK has given three seats to AIMIM  – Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri and Sankarapuram.  Affirming SDPI's alliance with AMMK, the party's Tamil Nadu chief Nellai Mubarak said that they held talks with Makkal Needhi Maiam as well but have decided to go with the former AIADMK leader's faction.

AMMK releases first candidate list

Dhinakaran-led AMMK released its first list of candidates earlier this week which included 15 names. The party has fielded former MLAs P Palaniappan, M Rengasamy, G Senthamizhan, C Shanmugavelu, and NG Parthiban with hopes of gaining presence in the Assembly. It currently holds only one seat in the 234-member assembly. The AMMK list includes some former ministers who were expelled from the AIADMK.

Tamil Nadu Assembly polls

The TN elections will be held on April 6 and the result will be declared on May 2. The two warring factions in AIADMK - of Deputy CM O Pannerselvam (OPS) and CM E Palaniswamy (EPS), reconciled after the party named incumbent E Palaniswamy as its CM candidate and O Panneerselvam as the chief of the 11-member steering committee. He has also announced a slew of social measures like Pongal gift hampers, farm loan waiver, free COVID-19 vaccines, passing school students, etc which has been slammed by DMK M K Stalin calling it 'pre-poll appeasement'.  Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats.