<p>Amid rumblings within the alliance, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday night flew in here and held consultations with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on the number of seats to be allotted for the party in the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). </p><p>During the meeting, the Congress was represented by Venugopal and former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo, while Stalin and his half-sister Kanimozhi Karunanidhi led the negotiations from the DMK’s side.</p>.'Kerala Story 2' 'invents false stories' to insult Kerala: K C Venugopal.<p>AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K Selva Perunthagai, who accompanied Venugopal, are believed to have been kept out of the discussions. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of leaders from the DMK and Congress sparring with each other on the issue of power sharing and the number of seats to be allotted for the national party.</p><p>The meeting also came amid Stalin ruling out sharing power with alliance parties, rejecting the Congress’ demand. </p><p>DMK sources told DH that the party insisted that it won’t deal with Chodankar, who is seen as responsible for the strain in the 20-year-old alliance, and hence Venugopal led the discussions from the Congress side. The Congress delegation is understood to have handed over a “sealed cover” from the High Command to Stalin during the meeting. </p><p>“Sunday’s meeting was inconclusive. There may be one more meeting before finalizing the agreement. The indication is that the deal will be sealed in about a week’s time,” the source said. The source added that the meeting’s goal was to iron out differences between the two parties and arrive at an amicable solution before the polls. </p><p>While the Congress is demanding over 30 assembly seats, the DMK is ready to give about 27 or 28 assembly seats, up from 25 seats the party was allotted in 2021 polls. “The party is also demanding a Rajya Sabha seat. The DMK is considering the request. We want more seats than we contested in 2021,” the source added.</p><p>The meeting between Venugopal and Stalin came on the day when the DMK formally launched seat-sharing negotiations with its alliance partners. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was the first party to have spoken to the DMK’s seat-sharing committee which asked the ally to accept lesser number of seats than 2021 in the interest of the alliance.</p>
<p>Amid rumblings within the alliance, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday night flew in here and held consultations with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on the number of seats to be allotted for the party in the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA). </p><p>During the meeting, the Congress was represented by Venugopal and former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo, while Stalin and his half-sister Kanimozhi Karunanidhi led the negotiations from the DMK’s side.</p>.'Kerala Story 2' 'invents false stories' to insult Kerala: K C Venugopal.<p>AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K Selva Perunthagai, who accompanied Venugopal, are believed to have been kept out of the discussions. The meeting assumes significance in the wake of leaders from the DMK and Congress sparring with each other on the issue of power sharing and the number of seats to be allotted for the national party.</p><p>The meeting also came amid Stalin ruling out sharing power with alliance parties, rejecting the Congress’ demand. </p><p>DMK sources told DH that the party insisted that it won’t deal with Chodankar, who is seen as responsible for the strain in the 20-year-old alliance, and hence Venugopal led the discussions from the Congress side. The Congress delegation is understood to have handed over a “sealed cover” from the High Command to Stalin during the meeting. </p><p>“Sunday’s meeting was inconclusive. There may be one more meeting before finalizing the agreement. The indication is that the deal will be sealed in about a week’s time,” the source said. The source added that the meeting’s goal was to iron out differences between the two parties and arrive at an amicable solution before the polls. </p><p>While the Congress is demanding over 30 assembly seats, the DMK is ready to give about 27 or 28 assembly seats, up from 25 seats the party was allotted in 2021 polls. “The party is also demanding a Rajya Sabha seat. The DMK is considering the request. We want more seats than we contested in 2021,” the source added.</p><p>The meeting between Venugopal and Stalin came on the day when the DMK formally launched seat-sharing negotiations with its alliance partners. Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) was the first party to have spoken to the DMK’s seat-sharing committee which asked the ally to accept lesser number of seats than 2021 in the interest of the alliance.</p>