AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami's trip to Delhi continues to dominate headlines in Tamil Nadu as reports emerge that Palaniswami's meeting with Amit Shah did explore the possibilities of a potential alliance between the parties.
Though AIADMK said Palaniswami's visit was mainly in connection with the inauguration of the party's new office in Delhi, the former chief minister squeezed some time off his schedule to meet the BJP leader. The meeting happened around 9 pm at Amit Shah's residence for over one hour.
Though Palaniswami claimed he did not talk to Shah about an alliance since there was over a year left for the elections, speculations are that Palaniswami did broach the topic with Amit Shah, according to Dinathanti.
Shah's demand that the total seats have to be shared evenly for an alliance to happen left Palaniswami shocked, the report added. This means that of the 234 seats, the BJP and AIADMK will field candidates in 117 seats each. The Union Minister also demanded that the party share the power, in the event of a victory.
The BJP is also reportedly hatching hopes that it can defeat the DMK in the upcoming elections if it ensures that the votes are not scattered. During the last elections, the AIADMK-led alliance included parties, including the PMK and BJP. The BJP is also closely watching Vijay's political entry.
There are also speculations that Palaniswami expressed his discomfort with Annamalai and his role as the BJP chief. He also seemed unenthusiastic about welcoming expelled leaders like TTV Dhinakaran, VK Sasikala, and O Panneerselvam back to the fold.
However, Palaniswami told reporters that his talks with Shah touched on the current issues in Tamil Nadu, including on the tri-language policy, constituency de-limitation and action on the Mekedadu and Mullaperiyar dam issues. Palaniswami said he also demanded a complete investigation into the TASMAC scam in Tamil Nadu.
