CHENNAI: With the Election Commission of India (ECI) announcing the poll schedule for five States, including Tamil Nadu, major political parties in the State are yet to finalise their alliances and seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming Assembly election.
The DMK-led alliance, which heads the ruling coalition in the State, has so far reached seat-sharing agreements only with the Congress, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and a few smaller parties. Out of the 234 Assembly constituencies, the DMK has so far finalised arrangements covering about 38 seats for its allies.
However, talks with major alliance partners such as the DMDK, Left parties (CPI and CPM) and the VCK are still on. These parties are reportedly seeking double-digit seat allocations, resulting in a stalemate that has persisted for nearly ten days.
Despite the deadlock, the DMK has announced the schedule for interviews with party aspirants seeking tickets for the Assembly election. Party sources said the differences over seat-sharing were likely to be resolved within the next few days.
Meanwhile, the principal Opposition party, AIADMK, is yet to begin formal seat-sharing talks with its alliance partners. The party constituted its seat-sharing committee on Sunday, the same day the poll schedule was announced.
Thus, both the major Dravidian parties — DMK and AIADMK — despite their long political histories spanning several decades, are still in the process of finalising alliance formations and seat allocations.
Apart from the two major alliances, actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) are also gearing up for the electoral battle. NTK chief Seeman has already announced candidates for all 234 constituencies at a recent public meeting in Tiruchy.
Compared to neighbouring Kerala, which is also heading for Assembly elections, Tamil Nadu appears to have more time for political negotiations. While the nomination process in Kerala begins almost immediately on Monday after the poll announcement, Tamil Nadu has about 15 days before nominations open, giving major parties additional time to finalise alliances and seat-sharing arrangements.