Chennai: The PMK, which is part of the DMK-led front in Tamil Nadu, is confident it will not be asked to sacrifice some seats to satisfy the Congress demands for more seats in the assembly elections.
"Our 31 seats remain intact. We will not be asked to sacrifice seats in favour of some other party," a PMK senior leader told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The ruling DMK has allowed PMK to contest from 31 seats. The two parties are holding discussions to finalise the constituencies for the PMK, whose strongholds are in the northern belt of Tamil Nadu.
On Saturday, the DMK decided to call off seat sharing talks with the Congress and quit the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.
According to the DMK, the Congress demand of 63 seats of its choice to contest in the April 13 polls for the 234-member house was unjustifiable.
However, hectic negotiations were held on Monday between the leaders of the Congress and DMK in a bid to save the seven-year-old relationship.
According to informed sources, one of the compromise formulas worked out was to agree to the Congress demand of 63 seats by taking away three seats from the PMK quota.
The DMK Tuesday started interviewing aspiring candidates. The interview panel is headed by party leader and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi himself. The interviews will go on till March 13.
DMK senior leader M.K. Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran - both central ministers - met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday night.
The DMK, which has 18 members in the Lok Sabha, is expected to take a decision on Tuesday on whether its central ministers should to ahead and quit the government -- or not.
Comments
0 comment