Chennai: The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) has finally decided to join hands with the AIADMK and has settled for five seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Sources from the DMK told MyNation that Vijayakanth’s DMDK will indeed be a part of the AIADMK alliance that includes the BJP and the PMK. The alliance is expected to be officially announced on Saturday, March 2.

The DMDK had earlier insisted on being treated on par with the PMK, which had been allotted seven Lok Sabha constituencies and one Rajya Sabha seat. However, the DMDK has now been forced to settle for less after negotiations with the DMK failed.

The AIADMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu will now see the BJP contesting in five seats, PMK in seven and DMDK in five.

Now that the DMDK is on board, the AIADMK might drop smaller parties that it had earlier intended to give one seat each to. The ruling party will end up contesting around 20 seats in the state.

DMK source however said that it was trying to rope in the DMDK only because the Congress had been insisting to do so. The DMK also went on to say that they remain unaffected by the DMDK’s change of stance.

The source added that the symbols like the DMK’s rising sun and the AIADMK’s two-leaves are more prominent than that of the DMDK’s drums. “So, it doesn’t matter where the DMDK switches, the DMK is unaffected by it,” the source concluded.

Vijayakanth had formed the DMDK in 2005 and in the 2006 Assembly Election, the party managed to win one seat; that of the party leader. It, however, managed to poll an impressive 8.38% votes in its electoral debut.

Thereafter, in the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, DMDK saw its vote share increase to 10.38% but has since seen its vote share plummet in subsequent polls. In the 2014 Lok Sabha Election, Vijayakanth’s party’s vote share reduced to 5.2% and it further reduced to 2.39% in 2016 Assembly election.

In the past week, a number of political leaders have called on Vijayakanth, who recently returned from the US following treatment for health problems. While Union Minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal had visited Vijayakanth at his residence on February 19, the DMDK leader insisted that the party be given as many seats as the PMK.

Days later, former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief S Thirunavukkarasar attempted to rope in the DMDK.  Thereafter, DMK President MK Stalin paid a ‘courtesy call’ to Vijayakanth.