CHENNAI: AIADMK marched ahead of its political opponents in poll preparations, announcing candidates for 150 constituencies, while the DMK remains caught in prolonged seat sharing negotiations with its allies. DMK’s panel led by T R Baalu held back to back meetings with leaders of the CPI, VCK, DMDK and Congress on Friday to finalise constituencies to be allotted to them. Though DMK was expected to release the party’s candidate list later in the day, the announcement was deferred to Saturday as talks remained inconclusive. In contrast, AIADMK released its second list covering 127 constituencies, fielding a large number of former ministers and sitting MLAs. Party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who hit the campaign trail soon after, took a swipe at the ruling alliance over the delay. “We completed seat-sharing talks and constituency allocation within four days. But DMK and its allies are struggling to wrap it up even after 25 days,” he said at an election rally in Alandur. He added that the protracted negotiations and public expressions of discontent by DMK allies had exposed fault lines within the DMK front. DMK managed to finalise all eight seats for the VCK and 23 of the 28 constituencies sought by the Congress. VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan described the talks as “satisfactory”, saying the party had secured the constituencies it wanted. Dismissing speculation of discord, he said some delay was natural when negotiations involved multiple parties. TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai echoed the sentiment, stating that discussions were cordial. “We are retaining 16 of the 18 constituencies we won in 2021 and have given up Tenkasi and Vridhachalam. The remaining five seats will be finalised soon,” he said. On Kanyakumari district, which has six constituencies, Selvaperunthagai said the Congress has sought four seats, of which three have been finalised. “We will not give up the fourth,” he asserted. He later left for New Delhi to consult party leadership and firm up the candidate list. Meanwhile, Congress MP Jothimani criticised the process, alleging a lack of transparency. “Interests of the Congress party have been completely compromised,” she said in a post on X.
