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Union Minister and Republican Party of India Chief Ramdas Athawale has said that he demanded 3-4 seats for his party within the NDA for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections but was denied by AIADMK Chief Edappadi Palaniswami.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, Athawale said that his party is contesting on 18 seats outside the National Democratic Alliance but will continue to support the NDA on the rest of the seats. "My party, the Republican Party, is also one of the members of the NDA... But in this election, RPI demanded 3-4 seats, but the NDA has not given the seats to RPI. Edappadi Palaniswami, former Chief Minister, can't give the seats to the RPI. Therefore, we are contesting in only 18 seats and in another 216 seats, our party is supporting the NDA," Athawale said. He emphasised that the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections will be a direct contest between AIADMK and DMK, asserting that there is no significant fight involving actor-turned-politician Vijay. "In the assembly election, there is a good fight between AIADMK and DMK... There is no fight between DMK and Vijay... Narendra Modi is also a very strong Prime Minister; he is fully supporting the Tamil Nadu state. And if the NDA government comes here, then more support will be given by the central government," the RPI Chief said. Earlier, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami launched a frontal attack against the ruling DMK during an election campaign in Kanchipuram, calling the party "not a party but a corporate company" and accusing it of copying AIADMK's manifesto and policies. He made the remarks while he was holding an election campaign in the Kanchipuram district ahead of the polling on April 23 for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election 2026. While addressing supporters, Palaniswami said, "DMK is not a party but a corporate company... We didn't copy your election manifesto, but DMK copied our AIADMK manifesto."He also highlighted the COVID-19 response of his government, saying, "I didn't care for my life and worked during the coronavirus pandemic. Even PM Modi appreciated my government and me in controlling corona. "Taking aim at Chief Minister MK Stalin, EPS alleged, "Stalin says wherever he goes, AIADMK is a dark era. If he closes his eyes, it will be dark only."He further claimed that AIADMK strengthened education infrastructure, stating, "AIADMK opened schools, but DMK closed schools. They have closed 200 government schools in Tamil Nadu. AIADMK made Tamil Nadu the number one state in higher education. In the last five years, they couldn't even open one medical college in Tamil Nadu."Targeting Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, EPS said, "Udayanidhi says Edappadi Palaniswami is a strong slave of Modi and BJP," and countered by referring to past political statements involving the DMK leadership. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23. Counting is scheduled for May 4 (ANI).
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