Chennai, March 27 TNCC president K Selvaperunthugai said on Friday that while the party has identified 23 constituencies for the April 23 Assembly elections, a final decision on five remaining seats remains the subject of ongoing negotiations with the DMK.
Speaking to reporters after a coordination meeting, he said, "Out of 28, we have identified 23. We will sit and talk again to reach a decision on the remaining five seats."
He noted that the delay in reaching a full agreement was due to a long-drawn discussion over seats.
Explaining the deadlock over the remaining seats, the TNCC chief said, "Talks have been held cordially, and there is good progress. However, due to the requests of friendly parties and because some alliance partners are fielding candidates, they were unable to provide two seats that we requested. We have accepted their reasons."
A significant point of contention involves the Kanyakumari region and seats currently held by the Congress. "Specifically, we are contesting in three seats in Kanyakumari. They are asking for one of those, but our AICC leadership has already spoken about it. It is difficult to give it up," Selvaperunthugai said.
He further mentioned that the party is keen on retaining the Erode East constituency.
Regarding specific local issues, he added, "There is a problem regarding our candidate for one seat. We will speak with the Chief Minister to resolve the Srivaikuntam seat."
The TNCC president confirmed that the party has successfully reclaimed 16 segments where it had previously emerged victorious. "We have taken back 16 constituencies. Among the 23 decided, almost all are sitting seats," he said.
When asked about the timeline for the final pact, Selvaperunthugai stated that the signing would take place "very shortly" and a candidate list would be released in a day or two. He dismissed rumors of a "weakened alliance", asserting that the party would soon issue a formal release detailing the final seat allocation.