Amid BJP ‘demand’ of 35 seats, EPS and Shah meet in Delhi
CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami held detailed discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on seat-sharing for the forthcoming Assembly election at the latter’s residence in New Delhi on Monday night.
The talks lasted about two hours. Significantly, no AIADMK leader accompanied Palaniswami this time. On Sunday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Madurai, Union Minister and BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu Piyush Goyal, Palaniswami, and leaders of alliance parties in the NDA held discussions. As a follow-up, Palaniswami and Shah held talks amid reports that the BJP is seeking at least 35 seats and a Rajya Sabha seat.
Palaniswami had previously held several meetings with Shah and other BJP leaders. Most recently, he met Shah in Delhi on January 8, following an earlier meeting on September 17, 2025.
Sources in Delhi hinted that the BJP has sought between 50 and 56 seats -- many of them in urban area. However, agreement on specific constituencies is yet to be finalised.
The PMK, led by Anbumani Ramadoss, is said to be seeking 15 to 18 seats, while AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran is purportedly eyeing 8 to 10 constituencies. “AIADMK, being the bigger party in the NDA, will naturally contest in 150-165 seats and the rest will be given to allies,” a senior BJP leader said.
Since the notification about the elections in four states and Puducherry is likely to be announced on the second of March, the AIADMK and BJP are keen to complete the seat-sharing before the notification.
No official statement was issued at the time of filing this report. After the meeting, Palaniswami was seen emerging with a broad smile and waving hands at the media persons from the car.
Palaniswami is likely to meet the press on Tuesday and tell them about what transpired during his meeting with Shah. He will be discussing the outcome of this meeting with the senior colleagues of the AIADMK at the district secretaries’ meeting scheduled for March 4 in Chennai.