Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member G. Ramakrishnan on Sunday said in Vellore that the party has urged the DMK to allot its current Lok Sabha constituencies for the upcoming polls. The DMK has allotted two seats to the party, but the constituencies have not been finalised.
Talking to journalists on the sidelines of public donation for the party, Mr. Ramakrishnan said the CPI (M) has requested the DMK to allot the same constituencies allotted to it in 2019. At present, the CPI (M) represents Coimbatore (P.R. Natarajan) and Madurai (S. Venkatesan) in the Lok Sabha. “We will know it in a day or two. Thereafter, we will sign an agreement,” he said.
Pointing out the DMK had finalised seat sharing with the CPI, IUML and KMDK, he said an agreement will also be reached between the Dravidian party and Congress, MDMK and VCK soon.
Similar seat sharing agreements are being reached by political parties in the INDIA bloc at the national level. Parties such as the Congress and AAP have reached deals in Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi between them whereas SP and Congress have an agreement in U.P and Madhya Pradesh. Agreement in other States by the bloc will be finalised soon, he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should explain his stand on action against corruption during his visit to Chennai on Monday as BJP was the single largest political party in the country that received maximum amount of funds under electoral bonds. Necessary corrections to the existing five constitutional laws, including the IT Act and RBI Act, was brought by the BJP government at the centre in 2017 to bring electoral bonds for political funding.
“After the Supreme Court judgment on it, there was no word on the issue by the Prime Minister. He should make his stand clear on it during the Chennai visit,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Salem, CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan, also told journalists the party is seeking to hold its constituencies.
When a journalist said Makkal Needhi Maiam (NMM) founder Kamal Haasan is keen on contesting from Coimbatore, Mr. Balakrishnan said the actor may contest anywhere. Every party had the right to seek any seat in an alliance, he said adding his party was strong in Madurai and Coimbatore and hence will press for retaining them.
He claimed the BJP’s first list of candidates for the Parliamentary elections, did not have anyone from Tamil Nadu as none was coming forward to contest on its ticket.
As for the current concerns about drug smuggling, he said anyone involved in it should be punished, irrespective of their political affiliation. The CPI(M) leader believed the State government is taking steps on a war-footing to eliminate the use of drugs in Tamil Nadu.
