VCK thanks AIADMK for invite but says it will stick to DMK-led alliance to take on BJP

Thirumavalavan added that though they may get fewer seats than they wish to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the DMK alliance, they believe the need to safeguard the nation from the BJP is important, and their decision would be based on that.

Commenting on whether there are chances of him meeting the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday, Thirumavalavan said they had not yet received an official invite from the committee formed by the DMK to hold the seat-sharing talks and upon receiving the invite, they will hold talks with the committee and if required, they will meet the CM Stalin as well.

“We know our strength, and we place our demands based on that. We expressed our wish in the first round of talks, and we haven’t indulged in the next round of talks yet. The demands we placed in the initial rounds remain status quo. After the second round of talks, based on the situation, we will make a decision,” he said.

He said the VCK would contest Lok Sabha polls in other south Indian states — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana — as well, in the ‘Pot’ symbol. He noted that though it may be a free symbol, they believe that the Election Commission would allocate them as they had contested on that in the previous elections.

According to Thirumavalavan, his party would contest 10 seats in Telangana and in Andhra Pradesh, where both Assembly and general elections are likely to be held together and they are holding seat-sharing talks with Andhra Congress president Y S Sharmila.

In Karnataka, VCK will contest in six constituencies, and in Kerala, the party is set to contest in three constituencies, including Idukki.

He noted that as they are part of the INDIA alliance, they are careful not to split their votes due to the candidature as it could benefit BJP and therefore, after holding the talks with their partners in other states, they would contest in the constituencies accordingly.

Opposing the use of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, which, according to Thirumavalvan, is acting in favour of the ruling party and as they consider it as a threat to the democracy, similar to the protest they organised they organised in Tamil Nadu, VCK will protest in the four southern states after March 10.