Tamil Nadu Assembly election: CPI(M) State Committee stands firmon six seats

The State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is adamant that it cannot reduce its share of seats below six. “The mandate is for six seats,” party sources said. However, the DMK leadership is offering only five seats. The decision of the State Committee will be conveyed to the DMK management, and a new decision will be made according to the response.

On Saturday, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby attended the State Secretariat meeting, followed by the State Committee meeting, which continued after 11 pm. There is no change in the party’s stance supporting the DMK-led alliance as its aim is to prevent the BJP-AIADMK combination from winning. However, there is a suggestion to contest independently in some constituencies and support DMK in others. Asked about the proposal, party sources said it would all depend on the DMK’s response.

The CPI(M) took a similar position in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections when it was allotted only one seat by the DMK. The party decided to contest in six constituencies, but eventually restricted itself to two constituencies and supported the DMK and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) led by GK Moopanar. However, the CPI(M) was not part of the DMK-TMC combine that swept the 1996 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. CPI(M) went to polls with Vaiko-initiated MDMK.

CPI(M)’s claim is that it was promised by the DMK leadership to increase the number of seats for the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. DMK, on ​​the other hand, argues that it has included more political parties in the alliance and is likely to lose its share of 15 constituencies.