Chennai, February 24 – As the Assembly elections approach, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has formed a four-member committee to negotiate seat-sharing arrangements with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as part of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA).
The decision was made at a meeting of the CPI State Executive Committee, held in Chennai under the chairmanship of senior leader S. Kalaichelvam.
The party stated that this marks the formal beginning of its preparations for the upcoming elections and signals the start of structured discussions within the DMK-led alliance.
The committee will be headed by CPI State Secretary M. Veerapandian and will include senior leaders R. Mutharasan, K. Subbarayan, and G. Palanisamy.
The team has been authorized to engage with the DMK leadership on behalf of the party and to finalize the allocation of seats.
According to party sources, the first round of seat-sharing talks between alliance partners is scheduled to take place on February 27.
The CPI's negotiating panel will represent the party during these discussions and is expected to present its demands based on organizational strength, past performance, and ground-level assessments across constituencies.
The CPI is a key constituent of the Secular Progressive Alliance led by the DMK and has historically contested a limited but strategically significant number of seats in the State. Party leaders indicated that the Executive Committee reviewed the political situation in Tamil Nadu, assessed the performance of the State government, and discussed the broader electoral strategy before authorizing the formation of the panel.
Sources said the CPI would seek to consolidate its traditional strongholds while also exploring opportunities in constituencies where it has expanded its presence in recent years.
The leadership emphasized the importance of alliance unity and coordinated campaigning to counter the opposition in what is expected to be a closely watched election.
The formation of the negotiating committee comes amid heightened political activity in the State, with major parties accelerating alliance talks and electoral preparations ahead of the official poll schedule announcement.
With the first round of discussions set for later this week, attention will now turn to how seat-sharing dynamics unfold within the DMK-led alliance.