Chennai, Jan 7
The Pattali Makkal Katchi, led by Anbumani Ramadoss, has formally joined the alliance headed by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The announcement was made by Edappadi Palaniswami, General Secretary of the AIADMK and Leader of Opposition, following high-level discussions held in Chennai.
Anbumani Ramadoss visited Palaniswami at his residence on Greenways Road in Chennai, where the two leaders held detailed talks on the structure of the alliance, coordination for the 2026 polls, and the framework for seat-sharing.
After the meeting, both leaders jointly addressed the media, formally confirming PMK's entry into the AIADMK-led front.
Addressing reporters, Palaniswami said the AIADMK continues to be part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the national level, and that PMK has now joined the AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.
He described PMK's inclusion as a positive and welcome development, noting that the alliance had been formed through mutual understanding between the two parties.
Palaniswami said discussions on seat-sharing were in their final stages and that a formal announcement would be made once the talks were fully concluded.
He did not respond to questions on whether preliminary alliance discussions with PMK had taken place earlier and left without offering further clarification on that matter.
The AIADMK leader also indicated that seat-sharing negotiations with PMK were close to completion. Political sources said that in the previous Assembly elections, PMK had contested 23 seats as part of an alliance. In the current talks, the AIADMK is believed to have offered around 15 seats to PMK.
However, sources added that PMK has been seeking more than 20 seats, leading to hard bargaining between the two sides.
It is also learnt that the AIADMK leadership has reportedly laid down certain conditions in the negotiations, including limits on the number of seats and clarity on leadership representation within the alliance.
With PMK formally joining the AIADMK-led alliance, the opposition camp in Tamil Nadu is beginning to take clearer shape ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, which are expected to be keenly contested with shifting alliances and intense political campaigning.
- IANS
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