Chennai: The stalemate between the DMK and the Congress over seat-sharing for next month's Tamil Nadu assembly polls is expected to be over by Tuesday evening, a DMK leader said. Speaking to reporters here, DMK member of parliament and spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan said: "The Congress has asked time till the evening. We have another four to five hours."
According to him, the status quo continues at present. He declined to comment further. The DMK, which has 18 members in the Lok Sabha, is expected to take a decision on Tuesday on the resignation of its six ministers from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
The party on Saturday decided to call off the seat-sharing talks with the Congress and quit the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. According to the DMK, the Congress demand of 63 seats of its choice to contest in the April 13 polls for the 234-member house was unjustifiable.
However, hectic negotiations were held on Monday between the leaders of the two parties in a bid to save the seven-year-old alliance. Senior DMK leader M.K. Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran, both central ministers, met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the DMK on Tuesday began interviewing aspiring candidates in the state. The interview panel is headed by party president and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi himself. The interviews will go on till March 13.
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