Vijayakanth's party has a presence in northern Tamil Nadu. (File)
Actor Vijayakanth's DMDK on Sunday joined hands with Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK and its alliance partners BJP and PMK, just hours after the dates were announced for the Lok Sabha elections. The DMDK will contest on four out of the state's 39 parliamentary seats as part of the alliance.
An agreement was signed between the top leadership of the two parties in Chennai in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam and Vijayakanth and DMDK Treasurer and his wife Premalatha.
The deal was sealed after initial roadblocks over the number of seats. Last week, the DMDK had skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally near Chennai, which was to mark the launch of the election campaign of the alliance.
The state's main opposition party, the DMK, had claimed that the DMDK had approached it seeking a better deal.
Vijayakanth's party, which has a presence in northern Tamil Nadu, had asked for seven seats and a berth in the Rajya Sabha - on par with the PMK, sources had said. However, the AIADMK was willing to spare only four.
As part of the alliance, the BJP will contest on 5 seats, PMK 7, and PT, NJP and NR Congress will fight on one each.
In 2014, the AIADMK had won 37 of the state's 39 seats, with 44.3 per cent votes. With only 5.1 per cent votes, Vijayakanth had failed to win a single seat. The PMK had won one seat, so did the BJP.
Tamil Nadu will vote on April 18 in the second single phase of Lok Sabha elections. Results will be declared on May 23.