Formal seat sharing talks in AIADMK camp remains non starter

Chennai: Four days after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, formal seat-sharing talks between the AIADMK and BJP are yet to begin.Second rung AIADMK leaders said they were in the dark over the party's next move on seat sharing discussions, even as the DMK has already finalised its alliance with the key ally Congress.
AIADMK functionaries said that EPS has left for Salem on Thursday and there are no seat sharing talks slated for the weekend. EPS would be addressing rallies in Erode on Saturday and Sunday under the "Makkalai Kappom, Thamizhagathai Meetpom" campaign. AIADMK leaders said EPS would be taking a call on the dates for holding formal seat sharing talks. While senior AIADMK leaders were tightlipped about the reason for the delay, party functionaries said the deadlock in talks with BJP for higher number of seats and specific constituencies was holding up the negotations with other allies. ``We will get a clarity once the seat sharing with BJP is finalised,'' said a former AIADMK minister. ``We are hoping that BJP would scale down its demands,'' he added. A senior BJP functionary said differences remained over key constituencies, especially in the western belt: Tiruppur South, Singanallur, Coimbatore North, and Modakurichi, where both parties wanted to contest. The BJP reduced its demand from 60 seats to about 40 and was now willing to settle for 25 to 30, but wanted constituencies with stronger winning prospects. The functionary said assessments from agencies and internal reviews were shared with Shah, who was expected to initiate talks with the AIADMK leadership soon.The BJP functionary added that the AIADMK, as alliance leader, appeared uneasy about the number of seats and constituencies sought by the BJP, but both sides wanted to finalise seat-sharing and set a clear road map ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's March 11 rally.A functionary and potential candidate from T T V Dhinakaran's AMMK said they were also waiting for the AIADMK and BJP to finalise the deal.