Congress walks tightrope on seats

Chennai: With Congress seeking an Assembly seat in every Parliamentary constituency, the seat-identifying exercise between DMK and Congress is facing hurdles as some of the constituencies are being sought by both parties.

The national party is also facing pulls and pressures from various factions to get the seats required for their nominees, casting a shadow over the talks. But, most seats sought for top Congress leaders are expected to be cleared easily.
Seat sharing in Chennai is the major hurdle as functionaries in both parties are vying for them. In Chennai’s neighbouring districts,   Congress seems to prefer Poonamallee, Avadi and Sriperumbudur constituencies. Congress sources said the DMK is expected to allocate Sriperumbudur, while getting Avadi in the alliance is tough.

The Congress has listed the seats where the party has registered its strength in previous polls, demanding that DMK allocate them. The DMK is insisting on sharing a few seats where the Congress is strong, especially in southern districts.

A Congress functionary said another seat preferred by both parties is Tiruttani, but there will be little difficulty in claiming Sholinghur and Rishivandiyam. The Congress is expected to retain its three sitting seats - Hosur, Vilavancode and Killiyoor. It is keen on Krishnagiri and Cheyyar in the northern districts. It is also pitching for a seat each in Salem and Tiruchi cities. In the west, the party is certain to get a seat, most possibly Perundurai in Erode district.  Besides, Congress functionaries are hopeful of getting Udhagamandalam, Tirupur and Singanallur seats in the Kongu belt.

In the delta, Congress will face hard negotiations if it wants Aravakurichi in Karur, but the functionaries are hopeful of getting Musiri and Mayiladuthurai. The Congress expects negotiations to be a give and take as any wrangling in seat identification could lead to a rift with local DMK functionaries and hurt winning prospects.