Tamilnadu parties bargaining with ADMK and DMK for seats ahead of polls

The dates for Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu have been announced and now it is time to get the political arithmetic right. Seat sharing talks are giving sleepless nights to both AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa and DMK supremo and M Karunanidhi, who is also the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
With the battle date set for April 13, it's now a race against time for both Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi to finalise their alliance arrangements. It's clear that the two Dravidian parties have to give away a a larger share of seats to their allies than they have ever done before.
For the DMK out of the 234 seats it may have to give close to a 110 to its allies. The Congress, which contested just 48 seats in 2006, started its bargaining for 2011 polls with a demand for 90. Sources say the party is adamant on at least 60 seats now.

The DMK has already given 31 to S Ramadoss's PMK and 10 to Thirumavalavan's Dalit outfit, the VCK.Other small parties including the Muslim League and Kongu Vellalar Party could take upto 10 seats

The seat arrangement between the Congress and the DMK is expected to be announced over the next couple of days. But it is clear that the DMK will contest in the lowest number of seats it has in the past three decades.

"Whenever there are talks between two parties, the parties will first start with higher number. So that is very usual while we have talks. We will settle (seat sharing talks," DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan says.

On the other hand DMK's principal opponent Jayalalithaa has put together a coalition of 14 parties including some very small outfits and other larger players including the Left Front. Her critical ally though is actor-tuned-politician Vijayakanth. He was the only MLA from his party in the 2006 elections but his DMDK polled over eight per cent votes and sources say he is now demanding at least 48 seats.

The net result may be that the AIADMK is likely to give away upto a 100 seats to all its allies put together.

"Thirteenth is an auspicious day and elections and counting are both on 13th. I will ensure that the evil of corruption and price rise which is in power in Tamil Nadu is uprooted," says Vijayakanth.

The fact that the two main Dravidian parties are set to give their allies more seats than they ever have is perhaps an indication that this elections like it has been in the past, will be about alliance arithmetic. The key question that will perhaps determine the outcome is: Will Vijayakanth prove the game changer or can the traditionally tested and proven Congress, PMK and DMK alliance continue to deliver?