The Communist Party of India has constituted a four-member committee for seat sharing talks with the Congress and DMK for the Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
The CPI state council, which met on Monday, decided to appoint a committee comprising party secretary A. M Saleem, former Minister R. Viswanathan, former legislator Nara Kalainathan and party national council member A. Ramoorthy to negotiate with Congress and DMK.
“We are keen to contest in three seats and the party leadership, during private conversations with Congress leaders, has expressed this desire. Even during the by-election for Thattanchavady, we have staked a claim. Had the seat been given to us, the Congress government would have completed its full term (the seat was given to DMK and the party legislator resigned contributing to the fall of Congress government recently),” a senior party leader told The Hindu .
The party has expressed interest in contesting from Villianur, Thattanchavady and Kadirgamam Assembly constituencies in the Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance (SDPA), he added.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had also decided to press for at least two seats. The CPI (M) had decided to seek Thirubhuvanai (SC) and Bahour.
The CPI had also held separate talks with CPI (M) and Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) to work as a united block in the SDPA alliance. The CPI (ML) used to contest the previous elections separately. “We wanted the Left parties to be united under the SDPA alliance in the prevailing political scenario in the UT,” a CPI leader said.
Resolution passed
Meanwhile, the CPI state council passed a resolution urging people to vote for political parties which will protect the rights of the UT.
He said people should also see through the designs of the BJP in destabilising a democratically elected government. The Centre used the “business background of certain legislators in the Congress and DMK,” to encourage them to defect to the BJP, the resolution said.
