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Jaya gets Left on board, works on the rest
AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa is working round-the-clock to set her party-led alliance in order for the Tamil Nadu polls on April 13.
AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa is working round-the-clock to set her party-led alliance in order for the Tamil Nadu polls on April 13.
She began detailed discussions with the leader of each party in the alliance on Friday and marathon sittings were held through the night at her residence and continued on Saturday after a brief break.
So far she has managed to get the Left on board by identifying 22 seats to be contested by the CPI(M) and the CPI.
The talks with leaders of key ally, the DMDK of actor-turned politician Vijayakanth, continued with 41 seats on the line.
Panruti Ramachandran, DMDK presidium chairman, said: "Talks are going on well. We hope to settle it soon, as early as tonight."
Jayalalithaa has decided on fielding 160 candidates, but could revise the list, incorporating changes in constituencies. This could be necessitated to accommodate the DMDK wish list and also Vaiko's MDMK.
Jayalalithaa has allotted Vaiko 16 seats and most leaders in the alliance want him in the group.
Vaiko is yet to react to the offer officially, but sources close to him said he would finally accept the offer.
The MDMK had contested 35 seats in alliance with the AIADMK in the May 2006 elections and won six. Of the six, three later defected to the ruling DMK, reducing Vaiko's bargaining power.
DGP removed
The EC on Saturday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to bar DGP Letika Saran from election related work.
In a letter to the state, the EC said during the course of elections, additional DGP Bholanath would oversee the work.
Incidentally, the AIADMK had demanded that Saran be replaced.
