AIADMK, CPI-M in talks on seat sharing

Chennai, Feb 19 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is hopeful of striking a seat-sharing deal with the AIADMK for the ensuing assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, said a party official here Saturday.

Representatives of the AIADMK, the main opposition party in the state, and the CPI-M held their second round of talks on the electoral pact.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, CPI-M's state secretary G. Ramakrishnan said the deal on the sharing of seats between the two parties was expected to materialise soon.

The Tamil Nadu assembly has 99 DMK members, 57 from the AIADMK, 34 from the Congress and 18 from the PMK. The house also has 15 Communist legislators and three members from the MDMK.

In the last elections, the CPI-M won nine seats out of the 13 it contested. The Communist Party of India (CPI) bagged six out of the 10 it contested. The two parties were in alliance with the DMK in 2006.

The AIADMK has inked seat-sharing deals with three small parties allotting two seats to the Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) and one each to the Republican Party of India (RPI) and the All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam (AIMMK).

While the PT and the RPI the Dalit backing, the AIMMK has the support of the Thevar community which generally backs the AIADMK.

The Naadalum Makkal Katchi promoted by actor-turned-politician Karthik - a Thevar - has announced support to the AIADMK.

The principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu will hold talks with the CPI Sunday and with the MDMK later.

The MDMK contested 36 seats in 2006 and won six of them. However, the party suffered due to defections by its legislators thereby bringing down its strength in the assembly to three.

Meanwhile, there is suspense over the AIADMK joining hands with the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) floated by actor-turned-politician Vijayakant.

Contesting in 232 seats in 2006, the DMDK won only one seat. However, it got a vote share of 8.3 percent. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the party contesting alone increased its vote share to around 10 percent.

Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK and the PMK Friday signed an agreement to jointly fight the coming assembly elections, with the PMK allotted 31 seats.