Chennai: The DMK on Tuesday sealed the deal for 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
As per the agreement, the party has given 10 seats to the Congress, two each to VCK, CPI, CPI(M) and one each to MDMK, KDMK, IJK and IUML. Vaiko-led MDMK will also get a Rajya Sabha seat. The DMK will contest in 20 constituencies, while the remaining will be given to the allies. Two smaller parties — KDMK and IJK — will contest under the DMK symbol and there’s a possibility that the VCK too could follow suit.
The DMK’s talks with smaller parties were on hold as the party was trying to woo the DMDK. MK Stalin met Vijayakanth at the latter’s residence to pursue the DMDK to join the front but the talks failed. Sources from the DMK said the DMDK was trying hard to bargain for more seats even when it was offered four seats. Given hectic parleys with the DMDK, the DMK then bought time to hold talks with smaller parties. After discussions with the DMDK hit a roadblock, the DMK decided to go ahead with its other negotiations.
On Monday, the DMK sealed the deal with VCK and CPI and on Tuesday, it finalised the arrangement with the CPI(M) and MDMK. The constituencies that the allies will get are still being worked out.
DMK president MK Stalin said, “We finalised seats for all 40 constituencies. DMK will contest in 20 constituencies. From March 7, we will hold discussions with our alliance partners to finalise the constituencies. All allies will share the dais with Rahul Gandhi during the first UPA rally in the state."
The DMK has already begun ‘gram sabha’ meetings and interactions with people across districts. The first rally of the DMK-Congress is scheduled for March 13 when Gandhi will visit the state.