JOIN USA second round of talks by the panels appointed for the purpose by the two parties failed to end the stalemate late on Friday night, with Congress leaders leaving the DMK headquarters disappointed.
While Congress is firmly insisting for higher number of seats (nearly 90 of the 234 Assembly seats) and a commitment by DMK on a coalition government if the combine was voted to power, the DMK is not in a position to at once concede them, sources told Deccan Herald.
The Congress is pitching for at least one-third of the total Assembly seats (namely 78), and might show some flexibility if DMK’s offer matches to at least around 65 seats. But DMK sources say that it was already constrained having allotted 31 seats to Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and till now had offered Congress about 55 seats. In the 2006 polls, Congress got 48 seats.
Besides, the DMK is firm on contesting at least 132 seats it had contested during the last elections if not more, to enable it form a government of its own. “If we give away a large chunk of seats to Congress that gives an impression of a coalition becoming inevitable after the polls, our cadres will be disheartened and will not work with full steam,” sources alleged.
On the other hand, DMK patriarch Karunanidhi might consider a coalition only in a post-poll context if it was warranted, they said.
Late on Friday night, Karunanidhi himself came to the DMK headquarters, raising hopes of signing a poll pact. But after Stalin conveyed a message from the DMK supremo to the Congress team, they left the venue in a huff.
TNCC chief Thankkabalu declined to divulge details, merely saying that apart from both sides apprising their respective leaderships on the stands taken at the talks, the Congress team will take the DMK’s fresh proposals to their high-command in Delhi. Meanwhile, DMK, “after taking forward our position to their leader will come back to us,” he blandly added.
Karunanidhi, on the other hand denied there was a stalemate. He also disagreed that Congress pressing for a pre-poll commitment on ‘power sharing’ was the stumbling block. “That’s a figment of your imagination,” he shot back.
Karunanidhi tactically moved ahead on Saturday to open talks with other smaller parties in the State, notwithstanding the fact that Congress is already sore over DMK first signing a deal with the PMK, a smaller ally, in just one sitting recently.
The DMK even inked another seat-sharing pact on Saturday, with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), allotting it three seats this time, against the two given in 2006.
DH News Service