PMK, DMDK may seek 50 seats each

CHENNAI: Battlelines are drawn for the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu with enough indication that the two fence-sitters, the DMDK and PMK, will align with the AIADMK and DMK respectively.

For the two Dravidian majors, it will be a complex task to satisfy their newfound partners who are likely to demand at least 50 seats each. The AIADMK will have on its side the MDMK, the Left parties and most likely the DMDK. The rival camp will include the DMK, the Congress, the VCK and the PMK.

Since its inception in September 2005, this is the first time that the Vijayakanth-led DMDK would opt to be in a poll alliance. It contested on its own for both the last assembly and Lok Sabha elections. As for the PMK, the party will return to the DMK-fold after a brief estrangement when it teamed up with the AIADMK for the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

The DMDK and the PMK could be hard bargainers given their individual strengths in 10 northern districts from where they have garnered more than 5% of the total polled votes in the state in the previous elections. The DMDK has an equal share of votes, about 5%, spread out in the rest of the state as well. Performance of the two parties in the earlier polls shows that the PMK got 5.89% votes in the 1991 assembly polls, 3.84% in 1996, 5.56% in 2001 and 5.65% in 2006.

The DMDK got 8.38% votes in 2006 elections. While the PMK's vote share remained more or less same at 5.72% in 2009 parliamentary polls, the DMDK bettered its performance by securing 10.08% votes.

The DMDK secured more than 20,000 votes in 27 assembly segments, more than 15,000 votes in 75 segments, more than 10,000 votes in 169 segments and more than 5,000 votes in 228 segments in the last parliamentary polls.

The party polled more than the winner's margins in 161 assembly segments. Since the DMDK had positioned itself as an alternative for both - the DMK and the AIADMK - in the previous polls, its votebank could see some erosion in the event of its aligning with the AIADMK.

Also, one has to factor in the loss to the AIADMK front on account of the PMK shifting to the opposite camp. The polls will not be a cakewalk for either front and a tilt of 10,000 votes per segment could be crucial in a closely contested poll.

The DMDK's electoral strategy will be fine-tuned by a five-member team led by party president Vijayakanth himself. Other members are Panruti S Ramachandran, K Pandiarajan, K R Veerappan and party youth wing leader L K Sudhish. Asked about the seats it would want to contest, Ramachandran, the DMDK party presidium chairman, said, "We have not yet applied our minds on that issue because it also depends on how the alliance is worked out. All I can say now is that we will be the second major partner in the AIADMK alliance."

But there are indications that the DMDK has demanded 50 seats from the AIADMK. The PMK is more forthcoming on its demands. Party leader S Ramadoss recently told the media that the PMK will demand 50 seats. The party contested in 31 assembly seats and won 18 seats in 2006.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com