CHENNAI: Seat-sharing talks between the Left parties and the ruling DMK have hit a roadblock, with the former insisting on more seats than the six allotted to them in the 2021 Assembly election, while the latter has offered only five seats, citing the presence of more allies in the coalition.
Sources said the DMK leadership conveyed to the CPM and the CPI that the party was willing to offer only five seats each, fewer than what the Left parties contested in the previous election.
A CPM delegation led by state secretary P Shanmugam met the DMK's seat-sharing committee at Anna Arivalayam, the party headquarters, on Tuesday. CPM leaders K Kanagaraj, K Samuelraj and S Kannan also participated in the meeting.
Senior DMK leaders, including headquarters secretary KN Nehru and party treasurer TR Baalu, could not attend the meeting owing to the party's state conference in Tiruchy and the ongoing Parliament session.
After the talks, Shanmugam said the CPM had sought more constituencies than the six seats it contested in the previous Assembly election. Both the CPM and the CPI had initially sought double-digit seats for the ensuing polls.
He said the party had scaled down its demand from double-digit seats to a request for additional seats after DMK leaders explained the constraints arising from the entry of new parties into the alliance.
"We have requested more constituencies than last time. The DMK team said they would consult Chief Minister MK Stalin regarding our demand. They also explained their constraints. We will continue discussions and expect the issue to be resolved smoothly," he told reporters.
However, party sources indicated that the DMK is inclined to allot around five seats each to the CPI and CPM, broadly maintaining the earlier formula despite the Left parties seeking additional constituencies.
Meanwhile, the CPI has convened its state committee meeting on Wednesday to discuss the outcome of the seat-sharing talks with the DMK.