DMK, CONGRESS reaches agreement on identification of 48 seats

Chennai, Mar 22 (UNI) The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), heading the Democratic Alliance (DPA) and the Congress, a key constituent, today reached an agreement on the identification of 48 seats allotted to the latter for the May 8 Assembly elections.

Resuming last night's inconclusive talks, leaders of the two parties met at the DMK headquarters here this morning and finalised the exercise, after which, DMK President M Karunanidhi and TNCC President M Krishnasamy signed an agreement.

''We are happy and satisfied,'' AICC General Secretary Veerappa Moily, in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu, who led the Congress delegation in the talks, told waiting newspersons.

Mr Moily, along with senior leaders and Union Ministers, including P Chidambaram, Mani Shankar Aiyer, G K Vasan and E V K S Elangovan flew down last evening and held marathon talks with the DMK delegation led by Mr Karunanidhi.

The two parties had made substantial progress in identifying the constituencies last night and gave finishing touches this morning.

DMK President M Karunanidhi said the party would finalise the process of identifying seats allotted to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), another key ally, either tonight or tomorrow morning. The PMK had been allotted 31 seats.

The DMK had already identified 13 constituencies to be contested by the CPI(M), ten by the CPI and three by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). The party would complete the exercise once it identified the seats to the PMK.

UNI WS KVV LR VC1525