Tamil Nadu Assembly election: AIADMK takes the lion’s share of advantageous seats

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has taken the lion’s share of those Assembly seats, where the combined votes of the coalitions headed by it and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) exceeded the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) during the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Had the two formations fought together, they would have been ahead of the SPA in 85 assembly segments, by applying the yardstick of the 2024 trend of voting. Of these seats, the Dravidian major has retained 65 seats.

Of the remaining 19 Assembly segments, the BJP and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) have been allotted eight each with one each to the Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK), Puratchi Bharatham and the Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK). In fact, in 2024 when the PMK was a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), it was ahead in three Assembly segments, of which two — Pennagaram and Dharmapuri — have been assigned to the party, the other being Pappireddipatti, where the AIADMK has named its nominee.

It is also to be kept in mind that the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which was with the AIADMK in 2024, is now an ally of the DMK. Two years ago, the DMDK took the lead in two Assembly segments — Thirumangalam and Aruppukottai. Also, former Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam, who contested in Ramanathapuram as an independent under the NDA fold two years ago, has been named as the DMK’s candidate for Bodinayakkanur.

In terms of the region-wise break-up of the 65 seats netted by the AIADMK, 31 are in the western region, one of the strongholds of the party and the home region of many leaders of the party such as general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (Edappadi), deputy general secretary K.P. Munusamy (Veppanahalli), and former Ministers P. Thangamani (Kumarapalayam) and S.P. Velumani (Thondamuthur). The party was, on its own, was ahead in Edappadi and Kumarapalayam in 2024, apart from six others.

Sixteen Assembly segments are in the northern districts, which include Mailam, where former Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam is going to contest, while 14 are in the south. The central or Cauvery delta region, where the party could win only in four seats during the 2021 Assembly polls, accounts for four, which cover Viralimalai and Vedaranyam, both being represented by the AIADMK’s former Ministers C. Vijayabaskar and O.S. Manian, and two others. 

As for the BJP, Avanashi, Rasipuram, Coimbatore (North), and Sattur, the seats identified for the party’s leading figures including Nainar Nagenthran, are among the advantageous seats. In the case of the PMK, Gingee and Virkavandi are some such places. Kunnam, K.V. Kuppam and Rajapalayam are the other three seats allocated to the three parties — IJK, Puratchi Bharatham, and the TMMK.