"There is no issue...": DMK leader Elangovan on INDIA bloc seat sharing

"Naturally, in any talks, the parties will ask for some more seats and it will be settled. There is no issue. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, what happened during the last elections will more or less continue," Elangovan told ANI.

The first set of talks on seat sharing between the DMK and Congress in Tamil Nadu commenced today.

According to reports, Mukul Wasnik, a senior Congress leader and convener of the National Alliance Committee (NAC), is set to engage in talks with leaders from Tamil Nadu.

Notably, in the 2019 General elections, the Congress contested 9 seats, out of which it won 8 seats, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) contested 20 seats and emerged victorious in all of them.

The alliance, led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, won a landslide victory, taking 38 of the 39 seats.

The allocation of seats within the INDIA alliance has raised concerns as the major parties in the alliance, namely, Shiv Sena (UBT), Trinamool Congress (TMC), and the Janata Dal-United (JDU), have been firm in their demand for a certain number of seats in their respective states.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has emphasised the winnability factor in seat-sharing talks with Congress in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls and expressed confidence that a way will be found in future talks to seal a pact.

The seat-sharing talks in Uttar Pradesh are crucial for INDIA block parties in their goal to take on the BJP collectively in the Lok Sabha polls expected to take place in April-May this year.

INDIA or 'Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance' is a group of opposition parties, including the Congress. The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. (ANI)