CHENNAI: After days of back-and-forth discussions between the DMK and Congress, the ruling party has officially invited Congress to begin formal seat-sharing discussions on Saturday.
Sources from both the parties confirmed the talks will begin on Saturday at Anna Arivalayam, where the members of the committee of both the parties, formed to hold the talks, will begin the discussion.
While both the parties are yet to find a common ground, DMK sources said the seats would be finalised soon, and if necessary, leaders of both the parties would start a parallel discussion to iron out differences, and move ahead for the Rajya Sabha election.
Meanwhile, DMK held talks with the CPI and CPM on Friday. While CPI has demanded 10 seats, CPM demanded 12, which is higher than the six each that they contested in 2021. However, sources who were part of the discussion told TNIE both CPI and CPM were offered only four seats each.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior CPM leader said DMK wants them to contest in less number of seats as new allies have joined the bloc. “In 2021 itself, we were forced to take up just six seats. We were the last party to sign the deal then. This time, we have demanded more seats in proportion to our party’s strength across the state,” he said.
CPI also expressed the same opinion, saying they are disappointed with the number of seats offered.
“We understand the situation of DMK. Instead of increasing, they want to reduce two seats what they gave us in the last election, which is unfair. We have conveyed our demands to the committee, and they said they would finalise it after discussing with the party leadership,” a senior CPI leader said.
While the first round of talks is over with both the Left parties, the next round is expected to begin after March 2.