Seat sharing is most uncomplicated among INDIA bloc allies in Tamil Nadu where the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led coalition which swept 38 out of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 — simply plan to repeat the same formula with minor adjustments. The first round of talks at the start of the week between DMK and its principal ally Congress was smooth for both parties in the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. Changes are likely to happen in the selection of constituencies.
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan is likely to receive a seat in the Secular Progressive Alliance. However, Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has so far not announced any tie-up with the coalition. (PTI)
Similarly, the number of seats shared is likely to be the same between DMK and other partners including the Dalit and Left parties in the coalition during the upcoming meetings. DMK would contest in more than 20 seats out of the 39 parliamentary seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry is likely to go to Congress, political leaders have said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, the Congress won eight out of the nine seats (including Puducherry) they contested. They lost one seat in Theni to AIADMK’s now expelled O Ravindranath, son of O Panneerselvam (known popularly as OPS). The DMK won all 20 seats they contested. Besides that, four of their allies — Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) contested in the DMK’s rising sun symbol. The Left parties — Communist Party of India (Marxist) and CPI contested in two seats each. The VCK and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) contested one seat each. “We would want to contest under our own symbol this election,” a VCK leader said on condition of anonymity adding that they desire to contest in at least two to three seats but it seems hard amidst talks of actor-politician Kamal Haasan who is likely to receive a seat in the Secular Progressive Alliance. However, Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) has so far not announced any tie-up with the coalition.
“The 2019 formula is successful and it's the only way we can accommodate so many of our allies,” said a DMK leader not wishing to be named. A Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that they had sought seats in double digits and the DMK wants to part only with nine seats including Puducherry but they are happy with the way their first round of talks concluded.
“We discussed how all of us can move together to once again gain the confidence of the people of Tamil Nadu and unseat the dispensation at the Centre, which has posed a serious challenge to the Constitution of India and our democratic polity, and bring back those forces which will take the nation strongly on the path of democracy,” Congress' Mukul Wasnik told reporters following the meeting on Sunday.
The discussion also came at a time when the Janata Dal (United) called off its alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress and quit the INDIA bloc to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
Both DMK and Congress leaders said that Nitish Kumar's resignation as Bihar’s chief minister to take up the post against the BJP would not deter other allies in the INDIA bloc. The meeting between the two parties was held at a time when the Congress has come under attack from its partners in the INDIA bloc, over a delay in seat-sharing pacts and other decisions. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has said that more than 200 days have passed without any deal, and has declared its intention of going solo in West Bengal. The Samajwadi Party has also criticised the Congress on this count and indicated that it is not willing to give more than 13 Lok Sabha seats to the latter in Uttar Pradesh.
Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.Read More
E-Paper
