Chennai, Feb 24 With the Assembly election drawing closer, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has constituted 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 taken at a meeting of the CPI State Executive Committee held in Chennai under the chairmanship of senior leader S. Kalaichelvam.
The party said the move marks the formal beginning of its preparations for the upcoming polls and signals the start of structured discussions within the DMK-led alliance.
The committee will be headed by CPI State secretary M. Veerapandian and includes senior leaders R. Mutharasan, K. Subbarayan, and G. Palanisamy.
The team has been authorised to engage with the DMK leadership on behalf of the party and finalise the contours of seat allocation.
According to party sources, the first round of seat-sharing talks between alliance partners is scheduled to be held on February 27.
The CPI's negotiating panel will represent the party during these discussions and is expected to place its demands based on organisational 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 authorising 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 emphasised 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.
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