The Hindu : Announcement on sharing of seats soon: BJP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 09, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Announcement on sharing of seats soon: BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 8. Alliance talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have reached a crucial stage and an announcement on sharing of seats will be made in a day or two, said the BJP State president, C.P. Radhakrishnan today.

The talks were progressing well and his party was confident of getting adequate number of seats, Mr. Radhakrishnan told newsmen here after a three-member BJP team had an hour-long discussion with AIADMK leaders.

According to those involved in the discussions, the BJP was seeking parity with the Congress: 10 seats. The BJP leaders attach great importance to getting a "double-digit" number. The AIADMK was not prepared to give more than seven, including the Pondicherry seat. However, the BJP, which initially hoped to field the dissident Congress leader, P. Kannan, in the Union Territory, is no longer keen on the Pondicherry seat. Mr. Kannan has since withdrawn his resignation from the Congress.

The BJP, it appears, is willing to settle for seven seats if the constituencies are "acceptable." The party wants to contest all the seats it holds: Nagercoil, Nilgiris, Pudukottai, and Coimbatore. But the AIADMK is unwilling to part with Pudukottai, which was won by its candidate, S. Thirunavukkarasar, in 1999. Mr. Thirunavukkarasar was apparently prepared to contest either from Tiruchi, close to Pudukottai or Ramanathapuram or Sivaganga, both in southern Tamil Nadu. But, AIADMK leaders conveyed to the BJP team that their cadres would not accept Mr. Thirunavukkarasar, who was formerly in the AIADMK.

Apart from Mr. Radhakrishnan, the BJP national secretary, L. Ganesan and the national executive committee member, Sukumaran Nambiar participated in the talks. The Ministers, C. Ponnaiyan, O. Paneerselvam and D. Jayakumar, represented the AIADMK.

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