AMMK to demand 4 to 6 seats in TN from BJP to join NDA

Chennai, Feb 6 (IANS) The AMMK has demanded 4 to 6 seats from the BJP for joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu, party sources said. 

Sources in the AMMK told IANS that party founder and General Secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who is also the nephew of the AIADMK's former interim General Secretary V.K. Shashikala is adamant that his party will contest from the Thevar community strongholds in south Tamil Nadu. 

The AMMK is a breakaway group of AIADMK with strong backing of the powerful Thevar community of south Tamil Nadu. 

After the BJP split its ties with Dravidian major AIADMK, it has been trying to align itself with parties of the state that have influence in certain pockets and have zeroed in on parties like the AMMK which has garnered around 8.6  per cent of vote share in 2019 general elections. The party has done extremely well in southern Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha seats like Theni, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, and Sivaganga garnering more than 1 lakh votes in each of these constituencies. 

The AMMK will, in addition to these four seats, will also demand Madurai and Tirunelveli seats also from the BJP. 

Veteran leader and former Chief Minister O.Pannerselvam, who was ousted from the AIADMK, is also a powerful force in south Tamil Nadu and also belongs to the Thevar community. 

In the 2019 general elections, the AIADMK could win only one seat - Theni out of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, with OPS's son O. Raveendranathan emerging the victor. OPS is, in all likelihood, set to join hands with the AMMK and this would be a powerful combination in south Tamil Nadu that can give a major challenge to the DMK. 

--IANS 

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