DMK to contest 177 seats

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 31. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the DMK in Tamil Nadu, is all set to refashion itself sans the MDMK led by Mr. Vaiko and the Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) headed by Mr. Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy for the May Assembly polls.

With the MDMK's exit from the NDA becoming absolutely clear today and the prospects of some other parties including the New Justice Party (NJP) being accommodated in the NDA getting bright, the final picture of the new-look alliance will emerge soon.

In a sudden development later tonight, the DMK President and Chief Minister, Mr. Karunanidhi, announced that THE DMK would contest 177 of the 234 Assembly seats. This increase of 22 seats from the 155 indicated in the earlier list was made possible by the MDMK, which had been given 21 seats, snapping its ties with the DMK.

Mr. Karunanidhi told reporters at the party headquarters earlier that the ``full list'' (of the number of seats and constituencies allotted to each partner) would be released tomorrow, after consultations with senior party leaders including the the general secretary, Mr. K. Anbazhagan.

Mr. Karunanidhi now accommodated the 'Tamizhar Bhoomi' led by the former Minister, Mr. Ku. Pa. Krishnan, with one seat, but said no word had been received yet from two other allies, the MGR-ADMK and the New Justice Party (NJP). The three seats earlier offered to ``friends of the DMK'' (read TMC-Democratic Forum) has been reduced to two.

As a key ally, the MDMK, which was given 21 seats on a par with the BJP, will not be in the alliance now, the DMK chief has now ample room to reshuffle some of the constituencies among the new and existing allies, and thereby help reach a final accord that ``satisfied all''.

Declining to comment on the MDMK going it alone, Mr. Karunanidhi, however, said the DMK had the capacity to ``offset any loss''.

Coinciding with the DMK parting company with the MDMK, momentum picked up today in the talks the former had with some of the allies like the MGR-ADMK led by Mr. S. Thirunavukkarasu, which are yet to be allotted seats in the DMK-led front.

Mr.Thirunavukkarasu, who had returned to the city after a visit to New Delhi to meet top BJP leaders, had a 20-minute meeting with Mr. Karunanidhi and Mr. Anbazhagan this afternoon at the DMK headquarters.

After the meeting, Mr. Thirunavukkarasu said the DMK's improved offer of three seats did not still satisfy him. ``We have urged some more seats and talks with the DMK will continue,'' he said. He would continue to be in the NDA irrespective of the outcome of the seat-sharing talks.

Asked if he had been waiting for the MDMK to formally leave the NDA so that MGR-ADMK could bargain for more seats, Mr.Thirunavukkarasu stoutly denied having such an intent. ``I do not think that way,'' he said.

The NJP's vice-president, Mr. J. Suddhanendhen, who heads that party's committee to negotiate seat-sharing after a patch-up with the NJP's president, Mr. A. C. Shanmugham recently, was hopeful that Mr. Karunanidhi would accord due status to the Mudaliar- community based party.

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Section  : Southern States
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