CHENNAI: The DMK, which is heading the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu, announced on Tuesday night that it will commence seat-sharing talks for Assembly polls with its allies on February 22. The announcement came hours after Congress leaders reiterated their strong disappointment over what it termed as “delay” by the DMK in initiating the talks with the party’s state in-charge Girish Chodankar, terming it “disheartening”.
Addressing reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday evening after a national-level consultation of Congress district presidents, Chodankar said, “We met Chief Minister M K Stalin on December 3. It has been nearly 70 days, but there has been no progress. Our cadre and leaders in Tamil Nadu are deeply anxious,” he said.
However, he clarified that Congress was not blaming anyone. “We are only stating facts. Elections are fast approaching, and without clarity on seats and constituencies, effective preparation is impossible,” he said.
The DMK’s statement, while pointing that the party cadre have been working tirelessly, listed a number of activities that are happening, without explicitly stating that these were the reasons for the delay.
This included the SIR-related work and various grassroots campaign-related work being carried out by the DMK. It further pointed out that the interim budget of Tamil Nadu will be presented on February 17, followed by discussion on the same.
‘All assembly segments in TN need advanced groundwork’
Subsequent to that, the DMK committee to be constituted soon by party president and CM MK Stalin will commence seat-sharing talks from February 22, it said
Meanwhile, the Delhi meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal, and a few other leaders besides Chodankar and Selvaperunthagai.
Selvaperunthagai told reporters the party leadership had clearly conveyed the need for early and decisive alliance negotiations. He said discussions at the meeting focused on strengthening the party organisation and preparing for the upcoming elections.
“The clear instruction from the leadership is that we must work hard, prepare early and ensure the alliance’s victory. Electoral processes have changed significantly, and delayed decisions only weaken our position,” he added.
Referring to past elections in states such as Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, he said last-minute seat-sharing decisions had adversely affected the party.
“All 234 Assembly constituencies require groundwork well in advance. That is possible only if negotiations are concluded early,” he said, adding that the party will urge CM Stalin and the DMK leadership to constitute the alliance negotiation committee immediately.
The Congress leaders stressed that the continued delay in commencing seat-sharing talks had caused widespread unease within the party, underscoring growing frustration over the DMK’s inaction ahead of the polls.