CHENNAI: After weeks of intense negotiations, public disagreements and speculation over power-sharing, the ruling DMK and Congress on Wednesday finally signed a seat-sharing deal, with the national party securing 28 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat for the upcoming elections. With the alliance now firmed up, this will be the fourth successive election the DMK and Congress will face together in the State.
The seat-sharing pact was formally signed between DMK president MK Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai at Anna Arivalayam in the presence of AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar and other leaders.
The breakthrough in the talks came after the Congress high command deputed senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram to meet Stalin on Tuesday, after the Chodankar-led committee hit a roadblock in the negotiations.
The Congress had been demanding 39 Assembly seats, two Rajya Sabha seats and a share in power, while the DMK initially began negotiations by offering 25 seats, the same number allotted to the party in the 2021 Assembly election, along with a Rajya Sabha seat. However, Chodankar rejected the offer. As the talks reached the brink of collapse, Chidambaram stepped in and secured 28 seats and one Rajya Sabha seat for the party.
Speaking to reporters after the signing of the agreement, Selvaperunthagai said the Congress high command would announce the party’s Upper House candidate and expressed satisfaction with the pact. Responding to questions about the delay in finalising the alliance, he said it was normal for seat-sharing discussions to take place over multiple rounds. “We have made the right decision at the right time,” he said.
Chodankar also told reporters that talks regarding the alliance in Puducherry would commence on Thursday. However, when asked about power-sharing in the State government, he chose not to comment.