DMDK open to ‘give-and-take policy’ in seat-sharing

DMDK general secretary Premallatha Vijayakant on Monday said the party was open to a “give-and-take policy” with regard to seat-sharing with the DMK for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election.

When asked if the party has been urged to reduce its number of seats in the DMK alliance during an interaction with journalists at the party headquarters in Chennai, She said, “Captain (Vijayakant) was the Leader of the Opposition [2011-16], and we have been able to form booth committees across Tamil Nadu comparable to the DMK and the AIADMK. We will also ‘give and take’ for the sake of the larger interests of the alliance.” She said the alliance was forged as per the wishes of the party’s office-bearers and the DMDK expects the DMK to call the party for talks after finalising deals with other allies.

“We will contest as a part of the DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Our district secretaries have been with us since 2006. We will discuss how we can win the seats that we are allotted…we will take their suggestions and work together,” she said.

Ms. Premallatha recalled the DMDK in the past had contested in all 234 assembly constituencies and has a presence in every constituency. “We will soon announce the number and the constituencies we would contesting,” she said., adding, “the candidates know what it takes to win an Assembly seat.”

She said “loyalty to the party” would be the main criteria for those aspiring to contest on a DMDK ticket.