CHENNAI: Following an assurance by Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin, the ruling DMK is expected to announce its seat-sharing committee within a day, party sources said on Wednesday. The move is seen as a key step towards resolving differences with the Congress over seat allocation and power-sharing issues ahead of the Assembly election.
DMK high command was reluctant to talk with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, who is insisting on forming the seat-sharing committee. The DMK leadership also decided to announce the committee soon.
Highlighting the importance of the proposed committee, DMK deputy general secretary K Kanimozhi said on Wednesday that seat-sharing talks with the Congress were continuing, and that only the committee formed for the purpose would take decisions on seat allocation and related issues.
When asked whether the Congress's demands were high, she declined to comment, saying that seat numbers had not yet been discussed. She added that Stalin would announce if more parties joined the DMK-led alliance.
Though the seat-sharing committee is yet to be formally constituted, sources said Stalin has been in constant touch with alliance leaders.
"The party high command regularly interacts with alliance partners and discusses strategies for the upcoming election. Alliance leaders have also submitted their wish lists, which will be examined by the seat-sharing committee once it is formed," a DMK source said.
The ruling DMK is also said to be making efforts to draw the attention of the Gandhi family by naming the newly opened Tindivanam bus stand after Indira Gandhi. The party leadership is keen to resolve all outstanding issues before the seat-sharing committee begins its deliberations, they added.