Tamil Nadu assembly elections: AIADMK marches ahead in poll work as DMK stuck in prolonged talks AIADMK has taken the lead in preparing for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, announcing candidates for 150 constituencies, while the DMK remains engaged in extended negotiations with its allies over seat-sharing arrangements. The DMK’s leadership, headed by T R Baalu, held back-to-back meetings with leaders of the CPI, VCK, DMDK, and Congress on Friday to finalize constituency allocations. Despite expectations of releasing its candidate list later in the day, the DMK postponed the announcement to Saturday as discussions remained unresolved. In contrast, AIADMK released its second list, covering 127 constituencies, and fielded a significant number of former ministers and sitting MLAs. Party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami criticized the delay in the DMK’s process, stating that the ruling alliance had completed its seat-sharing talks within four days, while the DMK and its allies had yet to finalize allocations after 25 days. Palaniswami highlighted the protracted negotiations and public discontent expressed by DMK allies as signs of internal divisions within the DMK front. The DMK managed to secure all eight seats for the VCK and 23 of the 28 constituencies sought by the Congress. VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan described the talks as “satisfactory,” noting that the party had achieved its desired constituencies. He dismissed rumors of discord, attributing delays to the complexity of multi-party negotiations. TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai echoed this sentiment, stating that discussions had been cordial. He mentioned that the party retained 16 of the 18 constituencies won in 2021, relinquished Tenkasi and Vridhachalam, and planned to finalize the remaining five seats soon.#aiadmk #dmk #tamil_nadu #tr_baalu #thol_thirumavalavan
