PMK's conditional offer in Pondy

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

CHENNAI, APRIL 5. The PMK will be agreeable to the AIADMK-PMK combine cutting down its share of seats from 18 to 17 in Pondicherry if the party is allowed to choose its constituencies. In such a scenario, however, the PMK would seek five or six of the seats now held by the Congress, the PMK founder, Dr. S. Ramadoss, told The Hindu , today.

As per an earlier PMK proposal, apart from the 10 seats the party would contest, eight seats were to be earmarked for the AIADMK, 10 for the Congress and one each for the TMC and the CPI.

Alternatively, the PMK, the AIADMK and the Congress were to contest nine seats each, leaving two seats for the TMC and one for the CPI.

But, now, the PMK is willing to reduce the total seat- share of the AIADMK-PMK combine by one seat to 17 on condition that it would be free to decide its constituencies.

After having already obtained 10 seats under an agreement with the AIADMK, the PMK was insisting that the AIADMK contest at least eight seats to prevent the Congress from dictating terms in the post-election scenario.

However, it is doubtful whether the latest ``concession'' of the PMK would help break the deadlock in talks over the alliance in Pondicherry as the Congress is determined to hold on to its nine sitting seats.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr. P. Shanmugham, said he had telephonically briefed the party high command about his one-to- one discussions with the AIADMK general secretary, Ms. Jayalalitha, held yesterday.

``The decision now rests with the Congress high command,'' he told The Hindu.

Mr.Shanmugham, who was to leave for Delhi today, stayed back here to continue his negotiations with the AIADMK leadership. He said he would hold discussions with the Congress president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, in Delhi tomorrow.

In Pondicherry, the CPI State committee secretary, Mr. N. Kalainathan, said the party would never concede the two constituencies, Modeliarpet and Reddiarpalayam, it won in 1996. At the same time, the party felt that there should be no third front and that the secular front should be further strengthened.

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