Recalling the party’s electoral history in the State, he said the Congress had once contested 110 constituencies in Assembly elections. Within the DMK alliance, its share had gradually declined from 63 seats to 41, then to 25 in 2021.

“In the current negotiations, our leadership asked for 41 seats. But to protect the Tamil Nadu soil and the welfare of its people, we accepted 28 seats with satisfaction after obtaining three additional constituencies,” he said.

His remarks came a day after CPM State secretary K Balakrishnan indicated that his party would also seek more seats in the alliance. Responding to this, Selvaperunthagai said while all alliance partners had the right to demand their share, it would not be appropriate for them to compete with the Congress for seats. “Chief Minister MK Stalin has the goodwill and he will decide accordingly,” he added.

Meanwhile, CPM Politburo member K. Balakrishnan said the party was seeking a higher number of seats primarily to ensure that its legislators could raise people’s issues more strongly in the Assembly.

Addressing a rally in Villupuram on Saturday, he said the CPM currently had two MLAs — Mari and Chinnadurai — and despite their limited representation, they had effectively utilised the small amount of speaking time allotted to them in the House.

Balakrishnan pointed out that the speaking time in the Assembly is allocated based on the number of members a party has, with parties having larger representation getting more time. Even within the limited time available, the CPM legislators had raised issues affecting people across the State, including cases of police excesses, he said.