TN alliances in turmoil over sharing of seats
TNCC leaders to take a final call after a meeting today
Both the Dravidian majors were unable to finalise alliances for the April 6 elections to the state assembly as their coalition partners were digging their heels in and refusing to accept what was being offered to them. A dramatic realignment does not, however, seem possible.
While it looked that all differences were settled in the DMK camp on Tuesday night with the Congress representatives agreeing for 24 seats in principle, in the TNCC there was resentment over the low offer with functionaries saying that they were given 40 seats in the 2016 elections.
The issue may be sorted out on Thursday when TNCC leaders meet and take a final call on it, say party sources, expressing hope of saving the alliance. Yet a section of leaders in the TNCC was not in favour of continuing with the alliance if the DMK refused to give in to their demand.
It was the same case with the other allies, too, with all of them wanting at least 10 seats each. Since the DMK itself is keen on contesting in as many as 170 or more seats, the allocation to the allies is being sought to be cut drastically, say sources.
But the smaller parties, too, want to get recognition by polling adequate percentage of votes and they feel it can be achieved only by increasing the number of seats. So, the VCK, CPM, CPI and MDMK are refusing to take what was being offered to them during the talks.
The DMK’s offer to give more seats if parties like the VCK and MDMK could contest in the ‘rising sun’ election symbol, too, has angered the allies as they want to maintain their individual identity and also aspire for recognition as state parties.
The same issue is also facing the AIADMK as its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress, has upped it ante, demanding 12 seats. The problem that the AIADMK was facing of late with the BJP was on the identification of the seats, rather than the numbers.
Most of the seats that the BJP is eyeing at are also being sought by either the PMK or certain AIADMK functionaries, who had expended their resources in developing the constituencies. The earlier hitch in the AIADMK-BJP ties has been ironed out with the BJP not insisting on the AIADMK accommodating the AMMK of T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
Not only did BJP leader C.T. Ravi make it clear that it was for the AIADMK to take the call on uniting with the AMMK, fisheries minister D. Jayakumar once again ruled it out on Wednesday, saying that the BJP had never interfered in the internal affairs of the party.
Apart from that, the AIADMK was unable to finalise the agreement with the DMDK as the party was also demanding a Rajya Sabha seat in future, besides Assembly seats. With the AIADMK saying a firm no, it was also learnt that DMDK was not averse to switching over to the DMK-led front.
If the DMK agrees for its demand for the Rajya Sabha seat and if the Congress breaks away from the present alliance, the DMDK might land in that alliance, sources say, adding that the possibilities, however, were very remote.
But if the Congress snaps ties with the DMK and goes on its own, some other small parties, now peeved with the manner in which they were treated by the DMK’s negotiating team, might also leave the alliance, sources say.