Tamil Nadu Assembly elections: Seat sharing talks fail to take-off

CHENNAI: As Assembly elections draw closer in Tamil Nadu, political parties appear to be in a fix on the throny issue of seat sharing with Congress and DMDK, a regional outfit, still undecided on the number of seats they would contest.

With elections to the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly due before May, both the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK are unable to proceed with the seat sharing arrangements till they finalise their tie-up with Congress and Vijayakant-led DMDK.

Adding to the complexity, the PMK is also in a fix with contradictory signals emerging on the issue of alliance from both the DMK and also the Vanniyar community-based party known for frequent switching of loyalties.

Though the Congress has firmed up its alliance with the DMK, it is yet to appoint a committee for negotiating seat sharing arrangements.

Union ministers P Chidambaram and GK Vasan and TNCC president KV Thangabalu are most likely to be a part of the committee, though Congress may include a Vanniyar and a Dalit as members.

AIADMK has announced its tie up with Left parties, MDMK and other small parties, but is awaiting a word from DMDK, which polled eight per cent votes in the 2006 Assembly polls, which is perceived to have played spoilsport to AIADMK's prospects.

With AIADMK determined to form a rainbow alliance this time, it has mounted pressure on the DMDK leader Vijaykant.

During the behind-the-scene talks, the DMDK leaders reportedly asked for at least 60 seats, but the AIADMK was not willing to concede more than 40, creating a stalemate.