The DMK has finalised its alliance with the VCK after the second stage of discussions with the party on Monday. The party led by Thol Thirumavalavan will be contesting from two seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as part of the DMK alliance. And while sources confirm to TNM that the VCK chief will be standing from Chidambaram, a seat he has traditionally contested, the other seat is still up for discussion.
TNM had earlier reported that seat-sharing talks were put on hold last week with the DMK trying to woo actor-turned-politician Vijayakant's DMDK. But with no progress seemingly likely on that front, the DMK has begun allotting seats for its existing and trusted alliance partners. The party has already given 10 seats to the Congress and one to the IUML. They are further set to hold talks with CPI, CPI (M) and MDMK later on Monday.
Speaking to the media outside the DMK headquarters on Monday, the VCK chief said, "In the upcoming elections, VCK will be be contesting from two seats."
According to sources who were present in the meeting, "The talks went very smoothly and VCK is happy about the allotment. There are some issues that we still need to sort out, like which is the other constituency that we will contest from and if we will adopt the DMK's symbol for the elections. The positive aspect of that will be that it increases winnability and will lead to a transfer of votes. But we also have to see how it will suit us as a party, and what other members have to say. We are looking at the big picture. As an alliance, we understand that there is no room for risk in this election. Final decision will be announced on March 7."
Talks with other alliance partners are also likely to be finalised today for the DMK. And while the party had initially looked to contest from 25 seats, it seems that it has brought down the figure.
"The way things are going, the other parties will also get two seats each and then DMK will contest from about 21 seat," says a leader from the alliance.