No Hitch In Seat Sharing Talks, Says Jayalalitha

The AIADMK general secretary, Jayalalitha, yesterday said there was no hitch in the ongoing seat-sharing talks among the constituents of the front led by her party for the coming Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

At a press conference here, after the newly- formed Tamil Nadu Makkal Congress headed by former TNCongress Committee president Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy, was admitted into the front, she said the AIADMK would contest majority of the seats in Tamil Nadu, and the rest would be distributed among other constituents (the BJP, MDMK Pattali Makkal Katchi, Janata Party and the TN Makkal Congress).

The talks were going on in a cordial atmosphere, and it was still early to say what the final number allotted to each party would be, Jayalalitha said.

To a question, she said there was no possibility of any other party being allotted a seat, though several parties had come forward with offers of support to the front.

She asserted that all constituents were committed to the fronts main plank of stability at the Centre under the leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee.

She had not alienated the minorities by forging the tie-up with the BJP , she said adding that she could give them an assurance that their interests would be safeguarded under a bjp government.

Asked whether the alliance would continue after the polls, Jayalalitha said while it would not be possible to predict the future, she hoped it would continue.

She denied a suggestion that she had split the state Congress.