CHENNAI: The lobbying for Rajya Sabha seats have begun in AIADMK and DMK camps as elections for six seats are expected to be held in March.
Of the six members whose terms would end in April, four belong to AIADMK and one belong to a CPM member who was elected with the support of AIADMK.
Despite only one DMK member’s term ending by April, due to the party’s increased strength in Assembly following the bypolls last year, DMK can now send three members to the Rajya Sabha. AIADMK will be able to send three.
In both DMK and AIADMK camps, it is said that at least one member from minority communities will be given a ticket.
A DMK source told Express, “Our party advocate NR Elango is expected to get ticket this time. In the last Rajya Sabha election, he filed the nomination as a precaution if in case MDMK leader Vaiko’s nomination got rejected. But Vaiko’s nomination was accepted. So it is expected that Elango will be considered this time.”
Also, since last time a ticket was given to a member from the Christian community, this time it is expected that the DMK leadership may consider a Muslim community member for the candidature. The party also wants to strengthen its base in the west regions, where AIADMK has outperformed DMK consistently.
In the AIADMK camp, demands from allies to accommodate them have emerged. A senior leader from Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) told Express, “During the seat-sharing talks for Lok Sabha, we were told that we will be given a ticket in Rajya Sabha polls in 2020.”
A former AIADMK leader said, “Following the support we extended for Triple Talaq and CAA legislations, our party lost confidence among the minorities. Hence, most probably the party will offer a Rajya Sabha ticket to a Muslim candidate.”
Rajya Sabha members, whose term come to an end in April, are S Muthukaruppan, R Sasikala Pushpa, AK Selvaraj and Vijila Sathyananth from AIADMK, TK Rengarajan from CPM and Tiruchy N Siva from DMK.
