TN: Congress demands 78 seats

NEW DELHI: Having inaugurated the seat-sharing talks with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday held an internal party meeting on the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.Union Health Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of the State Ghulam Nabi Azad was called to 10, Janpath to work out the finer points and the party’s panel, which will negotiate the seats and the constituencies with ally DMK.Admitting that “there’s little time left’’ before the election process kicks off, Azad told Express that the Congress expects the DMK to name its negotiation panel by next week. “The talks (on the seats) can begin only after they put their team in place,’’ he noted.Apart from Azad, the Congress panel is expected to have four others leaders from the State. During the parliamentary elections, both P Chidambaram and G K Vasan were on the State’s poll panel. But, this time round, the Congress top brass is ready to involve more local State-bound leaders.While the Congress is willing to allow DMK to identify the constituencies that it’s willing to share with it, Azad made it quite clear that the grand old party will settle for no less than 78 seats.The TN Congress is determined to raise its stakes in the State’s politics after having supported the minority DMK government for five years from outside. The local Congress unit, it seems, has prevailed upon the New Delhi leadership to demand at least two Assembly seats per parliamentary constituency. Tamil Nadu has 39 parliamentary constituencies.What would make it difficult for the Congress top brass to back down under DMK pressure is the fact that Rahul Gandhi too is adamant that the Congress’ seat share should increase. Just like Uttar Pradesh, Rahul has identified Tamil Nadu as a key State for the party’s revival.With Youth Congress and NSUI ranks swelling after the much-hyped membership drive and Rahul’s not-so-infrequent visits to the State, the youth brigade feels that it’s a position to demand a share of the electoral pie. “Without a political goal to pursue, how do we keep the new flock from straying?” asked of Rahul’s youth leaders said, staking claim to a dozen seats.Though unwilling to concede to any power-sharing equation with the Congress prior to the elections, the DMK is not averse to parting with a few more seats than the 48 it had given in the last election. As the tug-of-war over the seats and constituencies begins, the Congress claims that the DMK would do better if it gives out a message that the grand old party is going to be part of its power package.