CHENNAI: Copying the Congress's playbook to finalise their seat-sharing arrangement with the DMK for the upcoming Assembly election, several alliance partners are trying to reach Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin directly to resolve the hurdles in negotiations.
DMK sources said except for the Congress, which has secured 28 seats, the seat allocation is yet to be finalised for other partners due to hard-bargaining with the DMK's seat-sharing committee.
To bypass the DMK panel, some allies are reportedly seeking a direct meeting with Stalin, similar to the approach adopted by Congress leaders during their negotiations.
Key alliance partners, including the CPI, CPM, MDMK, VCK, DMDK, and MNM, are yet to reach an agreement on the number of seats. Most of these parties have their own election symbols and organisational strength to contest independently.
The Left parties are each seeking double-digit seats, though the DMK is reportedly ready to allot only around 10 seats together for both of them. Similarly, the DMDK and VCK are expected to settle for around eight and seven seats, respectively, though both parties are pushing for double-digit allocations.
Meanwhile, the MDMK and actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led MNM are facing difficulties not only over the number of seats but also over the symbol. The DMK has insisted that both parties contest under its ‘Rising Sun’ symbol, a condition that the two parties are reluctant to accept.
Due to these unresolved issues, seat-sharing talks in the DMK-led alliance remain inconclusive. However, sources expressed confidence that the final numbers would be settled after the alliance leaders’ meeting in Tiruchy.
DMDK: 6–8 seats
VCK: 7 seats
CPI, CPM: 5 seats each
MDMK, MNM: 3 seats each (to contest on DMK symbol)