CHENNAI: After losing an opportunity to be part of the Narendra Modi government, the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu is under pressure from the BJP to give up one of its four Rajya Sabha seats that would fall vacant on July 24. Losing 13 of the 22 assembly seats in the byelections means the AIADMK will have to concede an RS seat to the DMK.
It also has to fulfil its pre-poll agreement to part with another seat for the PMK. Giving one seat to the BJP would leave the AIADMK with just one more RS berth, and its representation in Parliament will fall to 11, including the lone Lok Sabha member P Raveendranath Kumar.
The BJP was initially keen on external affairs minister S Jaishankar being nominated from Tamil Nadu, which is his home state. It later decided to nominate him from Gujarat after Amit Shah and Smriti Irani (nominated to Rajya Sabha from the state) won from Gandhinagar and Amethi. But, the party is now seeking a seat from the AIADMK to accommodate its nominee who may be a local BJP person.
AIADMK leaders are opposed to such a move, pointing out that the DMK-led opposition in Tamil Nadu was bound to use it to discredit their party. “It will look like we are submitting to the BJP’s demands again. We can’t afford to do that, especially with the local body polls around the corner,” said a senior AIADMK leader.
Another leader added that the issue of seeking a ministerial berth has also been kept in abeyance, for six months at least, until elections to the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency and the Nanguneri assembly seat were completed. Meanwhile, after some bitter infighting over choosing a consensus candidate in the Modi government, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam will share a dais at an iftar party to be hosted by the two leaders in Chennai on Monday.
The six RS seats from Tamil Nadu will fall vacant on July 24. On April 2 next year, six more seats will fall vacant, including four AIADMK seats, and the party will lose one again to the DMK. The RS elections schedule is likely to be announced next week.
It also has to fulfil its pre-poll agreement to part with another seat for the PMK. Giving one seat to the BJP would leave the AIADMK with just one more RS berth, and its representation in Parliament will fall to 11, including the lone Lok Sabha member P Raveendranath Kumar.
The BJP was initially keen on external affairs minister S Jaishankar being nominated from Tamil Nadu, which is his home state. It later decided to nominate him from Gujarat after Amit Shah and Smriti Irani (nominated to Rajya Sabha from the state) won from Gandhinagar and Amethi. But, the party is now seeking a seat from the AIADMK to accommodate its nominee who may be a local BJP person.
AIADMK leaders are opposed to such a move, pointing out that the DMK-led opposition in Tamil Nadu was bound to use it to discredit their party. “It will look like we are submitting to the BJP’s demands again. We can’t afford to do that, especially with the local body polls around the corner,” said a senior AIADMK leader.
Another leader added that the issue of seeking a ministerial berth has also been kept in abeyance, for six months at least, until elections to the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency and the Nanguneri assembly seat were completed. Meanwhile, after some bitter infighting over choosing a consensus candidate in the Modi government, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam will share a dais at an iftar party to be hosted by the two leaders in Chennai on Monday.
The six RS seats from Tamil Nadu will fall vacant on July 24. On April 2 next year, six more seats will fall vacant, including four AIADMK seats, and the party will lose one again to the DMK. The RS elections schedule is likely to be announced next week.
Elections 2019
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