CHENNAI: AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik said the Congress had a “very positive meeting” with the DMK’s seat-sharing committee on Sunday. Speaking outside DMK headquarters Anna Arivalayam, Wasnik expressed satisfaction over the initial round of discussions with the Dravidian major which leads the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu.
Wasnik and senior Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Ajoy Kumar arrived in Chennai on Sunday to commence the formal seat-sharing talks with the DMK.
In the morning, they visited TNCC headquarters Sathyamoorthi Bhavan and interacted with Congress MPs and state-level functionaries to assess the potential outcome of the parliamentary election and the party’s prospects.
In the evening, they visited Arivalayam and engaged in discussion with the DMK’s seat-sharing committee led by former union minister TR Baalu for around 35 minutes.
Talking to reporters, Wasnik said, “In this first meeting, we spoke on how the two of us, along with other like-minded parties in our alliance, will move together and once again earn the confidence of the people of Tamil Nadu. The present union government has posed the most serious challenge to the Constitution and democracy. We discussed how to unseat such forces and bring back democratic forces to power.”
Replying to a question about the next course of action, Wasnik said they will be holding another discussion to decide seat-sharing arrangements.
“We are looking forward to working together to ensure that Tamil Nadu contributes in a very major way to defend the Constitution of India,” he added.
Highlighting the significance of the alliance between the DMK and Congress, Wasnik said the two parties have been working together for a very long time.
“We believe that working together will help us fight divisive forces that are dangerous to democracy,” Wasnik said. TNCC president KS Algairi described the meeting satisfactory.