CHENNAI: CPM Politburo member K Balakrishnan said the party was seeking a higher number of seats in the Assembly primarily to enable its legislators to argue more forcefully on people’s issues in the legislature.
Addressing a party rally in Villupuram on Saturday evening, he said the party’s demand for more seats was not driven by any other motive but by the need to secure adequate time to raise public concerns in the Assembly.
Referring to former legislator R. Ramamurthi, who was present on the stage, Balakrishnan said the party had secured the opportunity to elect an MLA from Villupuram district only once in its history. He asserted that Ramamurthi’s performance during his five-year tenure as the MLA for Vikravandi constituency remained unmatched.
Balakrishnan said no MLA from other parties could present a comparable list of development works carried out in the constituency during that period. He cited the Nandan canal project as an example, noting that the project had remained dormant for years without proper documentation.
Ramamurthi had retrieved the relevant records and raised the issue in the Assembly, pressing the government to implement the Nandan canal project and allocate Rs 200 crore for it, Balakrishnan said.
He pointed out that the CPM currently had only two MLAs in the Assembly, Mari and Chinnadurai. Despite the limited representation, the two legislators had utilised every second of the speaking time allotted to them to raise the issues of people across Tamil Nadu.
Balakrishnan said speaking time in the Assembly was allotted based on the number of members a party had. Parties with 25 MLAs were given more time, while those with only two members were allotted very little time.
Even within that limited time, the CPM members had highlighted people’s grievances, including police excesses, and brought them to the direct attention of the State government, he said.
He added that if the party had around 10 members in the Assembly, it would receive more time to speak and could raise a wider range of public issues.
Balakrishnan said the party expected that the ongoing seat-sharing talks would reach an amicable settlement. He also emphasised that the BJP-AIADMK alliance should not be allowed to win in the forthcoming elections.