Chennai, Feb. 27: ADMK chief Jayalalithaa and Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) leader Thirumavalavan today struck an electoral pact for the coming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

The DPI, which was expecting to be accommodated in the formidable DMK-led combine as part of its continuing friendship with the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), found no response from the latter.

Thirumavalavan met Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence this morning during which the electoral understanding was clinched, a statement from the ADMK headquarters said. Of the 234 Assembly seats, Jayalalithaa has agreed to allot nine to the DPI in Tamil Nadu. The seats to be allotted in Pondicherry will be decided later.

This should come as a shot in the arm for the DPI, which has a sizeable presence in north Tamil Nadu. The PMK and the DPI were at loggerheads but came together last year on the platform of the Tamil Protection Movement, whose fervour for Tamil culture had come to the fore in the row over actor Kusbhoo’s controversial remarks on pre-marital sex.

To preserve the unity between the PMK and the DPI, PMK chief S. Ramadoss was keen to take Thirumavalavan along with him as part of the DMK-led alliance. Though DMK chief M. Karunanidhi was not averse to taking the DPI on board, he left it to the PMK to share a small part of the seats it will be allocated with the DPI.

That turned out to be a stumbling block, but the DPI has managed to strike a better bargain with Jayalalithaa, sources said.