Tamil Nadu polls: TTV joined hands with Vijayakanth

TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and actor Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) have joined hands on Sunday to contest in the upcoming assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

Chennai:Days after exiting the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance over a seat-sharing dialogue, actor turned politician Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) has joined hands with TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) for the April 6 Tamil Nadu elections.

As Per the alliance deal, the actor-politician's party will contest 60 of the state's 234 seats. The DMDK has released its first list of candidates. Vijayakanth's wife Premalatha will contest from Virudhachalam, whereas ex-MLA P Parthasarathy will contest from Virugambakkam.

AIADMK, the dominant partner in the Tamil Nadu alliance, has allotted 23 seats to Anbumani Ramadoss' PMK. Its other partner, BJP, has been allotted 20 seats. The ruling party's seat-sharing talks with DMDK, however, fell apart last week.

Elaborating on why DMDK exited the alliance, party leader B Parthasarathy had said, "We sought 23 segments and wanted these to be picked from the 29 seats we had won in 2011 assembly polls. The AIADMK, however, did not agree, and we decided to break ties."

Vijayakanth's party, launched in 2005, had received an impressive 8.38 per cent votes in 2006 assembly polls. It improved its vote share marginally in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

However, the party's best-ever performance came in 2011, when it emerged as the principal opposition after winning 29 assembly seats.