Tamil Nadu Assembly polls: CPI to contest in five constituencies; finalises seat-sharing deal with DMK

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 18 (ANI): The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday finalised its seat-sharing agreement with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections scheduled to be held on April 23.
CPI will contest in five assembly constituencies as part of the DMK-led alliance.
The development comes amid ongoing discussions among alliance partners to streamline seat allocations ahead of the assembly polls.

The agreement was signed before Chief Minister MK Stalin and Tamil Nadu CPI secretary M Veerapandian.
Meanwhile, Congress has also reached a seat-sharing arrangement. It will contest 28 assembly constituencies. The DMK had allocated a Rajya Sabha berth to the Congress.
Another alliance partner, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), will contest on four seats in the 234-member state assembly.
Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday announced that Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into effect immediately, with the initiation of the election process for the 234-member state assembly, whose current tenure ends on May 10.
The main electoral contest is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), which includes DMK, Congress, and other parties, and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) with BJP and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) as allies. Actor-turned-politician Vijay is set to make his political debut in this election with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won with 133 seats. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) followed with 66 seats. Congress stood at 18 seats. The state saw a voter turnout of 76.6 per cent. (ANI)