Stalin holds meeting with party seniors to discuss poll panel formation

Chennai: After AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the DMK-Congress alliance was intact, chief minister M K Stalin held a late night meeting with party seniors on Tuesday.Stalin had assured the seniors that the alliance with Congress would continue and discussed with them about formation of a panel to hold alliance talks. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, municipal administration minister K N Nehru and PWD minister E V Velu were present at the meeting.
A DMK leader said that Stalin was upset over the controversy triggered by a few Congress functionaries, particularly, Virudhunagar MP B Manickam Tagore. Stalin reached out to a key leader of Congress in NEw Delhi and spoke over phone. It was after the conversation that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, during his Chennai visit, assured that the Congress - DMK ties were intact."Stalin informed this to his senior functionaries and discussed the formation of the panel to hold seat-sharing talks with the alliance partners," the DMK leader said.Setting the election process in motion, the DMK invited applications from interested aspirants who wished to contest in the upcoming assembly election. Interested aspirants can submit the application forms from February 20 to March 2, the party said. Aspirants must submit the form along with Rs 25,000 for general constituencies and Rs 15,000 for reserved constituencies. Women aspirants should shall submit the form with Rs 15,000, the party said.DMk also made another key announcement, about a new camoaign titled 'Vellum Tamil Pengal.' Under the campaign, DMK women's wing cadres will undertake a door-to-door public outreach from February 23 to March 8, International Women's Day, to take the achievements of the DMK govt. Ten women cadres will be assigned to every booth to undertake the campaign, the party said.