The committee constituted by the Congress to negotiate seat-sharing arrangements with the DMK had its first meeting in Delhi on Tuesday under the stewardship of Union health minister and Tamil Nadu in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Emerging from the meeting, Congress president of the Tamil Nadu unit, Mr Thangabalu, said, “The state unit would begin consultation with the office-bearers of the state, besides consulting former and current MPs and MLAs on the issue of seat-sharing with the DMK.”
He added the views of all concerned will be taken on the issue of which parties should be accommodated in to the Democratic Progressive Alliance.
The committee comprises Union shipping minister G.K. Vasan, Union home minister P. Chidambaram, congress state unit president Thangabalu, national spokesperson of the party Jayanthi Natarajan and Nammakl MLA Jayakumar as members of its committee on Monday.
The DMK had earlier announced the names of the members of its committee. They are deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin, senior leader and MP T.R. Baalu, electricity minister Arcot Veerasamy, law minister Duraimurugan and higher education minister Ponmudi. The decision to constitute committees to negotiate seat-sharing between the DMK and the Congress was taken in a meeting that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had with Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi last month.
Earlier, the Congress had demanded 80 seats in addition to share in power should the DPA combine return to power.