In a major political development ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the AIADMK on Monday finalised its seat-sharing agreement with key NDA allies, setting the stage for a high-stakes electoral battle.

The deal was announced by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in Chennai, in the presence of senior leaders including Piyush Goyal, R Anbumani and TTV Dhinakaran. As per the agreement, the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest 27 seats, the Pattali Makkal Katchi will get 18 seats, and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam will contest 11 seats.

With Tamil Nadu having a total of 234 Assembly constituencies, the AIADMK will retain 178 seats under this arrangement and is expected to finalise agreements with other smaller allies soon. The party also indicated that discussions are ongoing regarding whether smaller allies will contest on their own symbols or use those of major alliance partners.

Expressing confidence, Palaniswami said the AIADMK aims to secure a majority on its own and form the next government in the state. Notably, this is the first time the BJP has been allocated more seats than other allies within the AIADMK-led alliance, marking a shift from previous elections.

The development comes amid internal challenges within the PMK, which is currently facing a split between Anbumani and party founder S Ramadoss.

On the other side, the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has already finalised its alliances, allocating seats to parties including the Congress, CPI, MDMK, IUML, MMK and KMDK. Some of these candidates are expected to contest on the DMK’s “Rising Sun” symbol.