Chennai, March 28: The ruling DMK is expected to announce its candidate list on Saturday as negotiations with allies over seat-sharing reach their final stages. The Election Commission of India has confirmed that voting for all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu will take place in a single phase on April 23.
According to the schedule, the nomination process will begin on March 30 and conclude on April 6. The counting of votes cast on April 23 will take place on May 4, the same day the results will be declared.
Reports indicate that discussions regarding seat allocation within the DMK-led coalition are nearing completion, although some significant issues remain unresolved. The DMK has finalized agreements with several allies, including the Tamil Nadu Liberation Tigers, MDMK, and the Communist Party of India, regarding the constituencies they will contest.
However, negotiations are still ongoing with the coalition’s two major partners, Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Congress party has been allocated 28 seats, of which it has accepted 23, while pushing for changes in the remaining five.
The CPI(M) is reportedly dissatisfied with the reduced number of allocated seats and is advocating for constituencies where the DMK has a strong support base.
According to party sources, the delay in releasing the candidate list is due to three main issues: negotiations with Congress, demands from the DMDK faction, and concerns from the CPI(M).
Preparations were underway at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, to release the candidate list on Friday. However, the announcement was postponed due to the lack of a final agreement with key allies. Efforts to reach a consensus are ongoing, and sources believe that the DMK will eventually come to a cordial agreement with its partners before releasing the much-anticipated candidate list.
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