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Journalism of Courage
Congress and DMK today reached an understanding on seat-sharing — one of the first for the secular coalition that Congress is hoping to forge.
According to AICC general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Kamal Nath, the Congress would be given 10 seats, out of which seven have been finalised.
Congress’ seat-sharing arrangement with DMK appears similar to the one with AIADMK in 1999, when it contested 11 seats and won only two.
Asked if the Congress was looking at 10 seats in Tamil Nadu, Nath said: ‘‘It is a very crowded alliance. The DMK, which contested 20 seats in the last elections, may now have to contest fewer seats.’’
Making the announcement, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi said the decision on the remaining three seats for Congress would be taken in a few days.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to visit Chennai and meet Karunanidhi after the on-going Parliament session.
The seven seats allotted to Congress are Myiladuthurai, Sivaganga, Gobi Chettipalayam, Nilgiris, Palani, Dindigul and Rasipuram, which is a reserved seat.
The DMK has also firmed up seat-sharing with MDMK, which has got four seats, and CPI (M), which will contest two seats. Out of the total 39 Lok Sabha seats, the DMK has given away 16 seats in agreements with its allies.
Karunanidhi said the seat-sharing exercise with CPI (M) will be finalised ‘‘either tomorrow or the day after.’’ Earlier in the day, Congress leader Kamal Nath held two-hour-long talks with Karunanidhi after which he said the contentious Pondicherry seat, which was given by DMK to PMK, was still being negotiated.
