DMK demands 7 cabinet berths; meeting with Pranab inconclusive

Congress and DMK on Wednesday discussed allocation of portfolios amid reports that the latter is staking claim to seven Cabinet berths.

Congress and DMK on Wednesday discussed allocation of portfolios amid reports that the latter is staking claim to seven Cabinet berths. Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and DMK chief M Karunanidhi held deliberations for about 45 minutes,trying to work out representation of DMK in the new government.

The discussions remained inconclusive as Mukherjee apparently wanted to consult party President Sonia Gandhi on the issue. “We discussed the mechanism for participation in the government. We shared our views with each other as this is the first meeting. Further discussions are required,” Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting. Mukherjee was accompanied by Ghulam Nabi Azad,Congress general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu,and Ahmed Patel,Political Secretary to the Congress president,when he met Karunanidhi at Tamil Nadu Bhavan.

DMK leaders,including T R Baalu and Dayanidhi Maran,were also present during the meeting along with Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi. DMK,which has won 18 seats on its own and brought a total of 28 seats from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in alliance with Congress,is said to be staking claim to seven berths in the new government,the same number it had in the outgoing ministry.

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Karunanidhi’s son Azhagiri,Maran,Kanimozhi and A Raja are said to be in the reckoning for cabinet berths while new entrant T K S Elangovan could be given a Minister of State slot.

Helen Davidson,who won Kanyakumari seat for the first time for DMK,is also being seen as a possible candidate for a Minister of State seat. DMK’s share this time is two more than in the dissolved Lok Sabha. Karunanidhi met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday soon after his arrival here.