With just a few months left for the crucial general elections, both the national parties — BJP and Congress — have begun to formally ally with regional parties in states. First, the BJP announced its alliance with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. Now, the Congress looks set to join hands with MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu, which has 39 parliamentary seats.
The Indian Express reports that both the parties have finalised a seat-sharing arrangement and an announcement could be made as early as today. According to the report, the Congress is likely to get 10 seats in the grand alliance which will have seven other parties — the CPM, CPI, MDMK, Muslim League, Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi, the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and one Kongu party.
The report said that the Congress President Rahul met top leaders from Tamil Nadu including state Congress president KS Alagiri and his predecessor S Thirunavukkarasar on Tuesday. Former Union minister P Chidambaram was also part of the consultations. Senior DMK leader M Kanimozhi also met Rahul Gandhi.
In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the grand old party had contested on a similar number of seats but drew a blank. The DMK too could not open its account. Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK swept the state by winning 37 seats with 44.3 per cent vote share. The DMK had got 23.6 per cent vote share, while the Congress could secure just 4.3 per cent.
The BJP, which had won one seat with a 5.5 per cent vote share in the last elections, will contest on 5 seats this time. But what is important for the BJP is that it has got a southern regional party on board in a region where it has struggled to expand its base. The BJP is also expecting to compensate from South and North East for the seats it may lose in the Hindi heartland.