CHENNAI: All India Congress Committee (AICC) Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar told reporters on Monday that negotiations for Rajya Sabha seat allocation for the Congress and seat sharing for Assembly polls and local body elections are gaining momentum with the leader of the INDIA bloc in the State, DMK.
Chodankar, along with Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president Selvaperunthagai, met DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi at her residence, as part of the negotiations, even though he played it down as a "courtesy call. He said broader discussions between the alliance partners would take place formally at a later stage.
Responding to reporters' questions, Chodankar said the meeting between AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and the Chief Minister touched on seat-sharing arrangements, including the Rajya Sabha seat and the upcoming Assembly elections.
When asked whether power-sharing was discussed, he said talks on constituency sharing should first reach a conclusion.
On the number of seats sought by the Congress, Chodankar stated that the party has demanded more seats than it was allotted in the previous election. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress contested 25 seats as part of the DMK-led alliance.
Regarding the formal meeting between the alliance negotiation committees of the Congress and the DMK, Chodankar said the party is awaiting confirmation of a date from the DMK leadership.