DMK may contest in 150 constituencies

Chennai: Unwilling to send a message that it is ready to accommodate coalition partners into its government if the combine wins the Assembly polls,  DMK is adamant on contesting in at least 150 seats and is in a mood to leave only 84 seats for coalition partners like the Congress and possibly DMDK, which is yet to reveal its cards.

Senior DMK leaders told Deccan Chronicle that the top brass now feels that the party did commit a mistake in 2006 and 2011 when it contested in less than 130 seats, leaving more than 100 seats to coalition partners, sending an indirect message that the DMK was ready for coalition government.

In 2006, the DMK contested in 129 seats and ended up winning just 96 seats, nearly 21 seats short of simple majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, but ran a minority government with outside support from Congress and PMK.

Five years later, the party contested only in 119 seats leaving 63 seats to its junior partner Congress but won in just 23 seats with rival AIADMK sweeping the polls.

“This time,  the DMK does not want to take any chances. We paid the price in 2006 for giving too much to the alliance partners. We had to depend on other political parties.

Since we contested in less than 130 seats, speculation began much before elections that the DMK is ready for a coalition government. Even in 2011 we gave nearly 100 seats to our alliance partners,” a senior DMK leader said.

Contesting in less number of seats also projected the DMK as being “weak” and this time around the party leadership is very clear to ensure that no wrong signal is given ahead of the elections, the senior leader explained.

“We want to contest in no less than 150 seats. Only if we contest in 150 seats, we will be able to form a government of our own. Even the cadre is clear that the party should not contest in less than 150 seats.

This effectively leaves another 84 seats to be shared between the Congress and DMDK if the party finally decides to join the front,” said another DMK insider, who is close to party treasurer M. K. Stalin.  The leader also said the DMK is ready to accommodate smaller parties like Muslim League from its quota which is now fixed at 150 seats, indicating that Congress and DMDK, as and when they join the front, would be asked to share 84 seats between them.