‘Question of offering Rajya Sabha seat does not arise’

The AIADMK, which is confident of roping the DMDK into its front for the upcoming polls, is willing to offer a maximum of four Lok Sabha seats to the party and nothing more.

In the last two weeks, the DMDK is said to have held parallel negotiations with the AIADMK and the DMK. After the ruling party allotted seven Lok Sabha seats to the PMK, the DMDK demanded that it be treated on a par with the PMK.

A senior leader of the party says his camp can set aside four seats at best, and that the question of offering a Rajya Sabha seat does not arise.

In view of the scheduled rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai next Wednesday, the AIADMK wants to finalise the constituents of the alliance that it is going to head, firm up the number of seats to be shared with partners and identify constituencies, a party source says.

Functionaries shuffled

Meanwhile, the ruling party announced a shuffle of some of its office-bearers. Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Pollachi V. Jayaraman has been made secretary of the Tiruppur (suburban) district unit, replacing Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan, who has been made an organising secretary. K. R. Arjunan, MP, and S.T. Chellapandian, former Minister, have also been made organising secretaries. Until now, Mr. Arjunan and Mr. Chellapandian were secretaries of The Nilgiris and Thoothukudi district units.

Former Minister Budhichandran is the new secretary for The Nilgiris. The Thoothukudi district unit has been divided into two — North and South — and Information Minister Kadambur Raju will look after the affairs of the Thoothukudi (North) unit, and former Minister S.P. Shanmuganathan, Thoothukudi (South), according to a release issued by CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam, who are co-coordinator and coordinator of the party, respectively.