Cong to get sitting seats except Arani, Tiruchy
The DMK high command insists on fielding its candidates in Arani and Karur besides Tiruchy, which has been assured to Vaiko’s MDMK.
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CHENNAI: Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin, who drove a hard bargain with allies in seat sharing talks, seems to be generous in allotting Lok Sabha constituencies to the Congress. According to informed DMK sources, the Dravidian major has come forward to allot most of the sitting Congress seats, except Arani, Tiruchy and probably Karur.
A highly placed DMK source disclosed to DT Next that the DMK high command insists on fielding its candidates in Arani and Karur besides Tiruchy, which has been assured to Vaiko’s MDMK.
“The district units are not comfortable working with most sitting Congress MPs. Even internal assessment of the DMK has showed that the national party must change at least six of its sitting MPs if they are to work cohesively with the local DMK units and put up a good fight in the elections,” the DMK source said, revealing that the DMK high command was willing to offer Cuddalore and Mayiladuthurai in return for Arani and Tiruchy.
If sources in the DMK are to be believed, Stalin was willing to allot Dindigul seat to the Congress, but a well-connected sitting Congress MP S Jothimani insisted on contesting from her home Karur seat where former minister V Senthilbalaji and company have not shared the best of ties with her for some time now. It was due to the demand for Karur and DMK’s decision to field a candidate on its own in Coimbatore that Stalin chose to allot to CPM the ‘cakewalk’ seat Dindigul where the DMK has humiliated opponents of all kinds with margins running into a few lakh.
As things stand now, the DMK is understood to be ready to offer Krishnagiri, Tiruvallur, Virudhunagar, Kanniyakumari, Sivaganga, all sitting seats and Theni, the lone seat lost by the national party, to the Congress with a suggestion for a change of candidate in at least half of the seats. Anna Arivalayam was also said to have agreed to allot Karur at the nick of time. The two parties could formalise the agreement for finalising the candidates if the Congress accepts the existing offer.