CHENNAI: Amid recent friction over power-sharing and the Congress’s demand for a larger share of seats in the 2026 Assembly election, the ruling DMK and Congress are set to commence formal seat-sharing negotiations on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai confirmed that the talks will be held at Anna Arivalayam. “I, along with AICC state in-charge Girish Chodankar, co-in-charge Niveditha Alva and other members, will participate,” he said.
The Congress, a key constituent of the DMK-led alliance, has been pressing for a share in power, a higher number of Assembly seats and Rajya Sabha berths, even as informal consultations have taken place between senior leaders of the two parties. However, structured discussions between the officially appointed seat-sharing committees are yet to begin.
Preliminary exchanges were held between DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin, deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and senior Congress leaders. Congress general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and Tamil Nadu Congress screening committee chairman TS Singh Deo had met the chief minister on February 22.
Sources in the DMK said the Congress had sought two Rajya Sabha seats and more than 39 Assembly constituencies. With the induction of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam into the alliance, the DMK is learnt to have conveyed its inability to meet what it views as steep demands. According to sources, the DMK has offered one Rajya Sabha seat and 25 Assembly constituencies, the same number allotted to the Congress in the 2021 election.
Although the DMK has initiated seat-sharing talks with other allies, it had not announced a date for discussions with the Congress earlier, reportedly due to differences between the latter’s demands and the former’s proposed allocation. Saturday's meeting is likely to put an end to speculations that the Congress was opening communication channels with actor Vijay’s TVK for a possible tie-up, if the talks with the DMK fail.
The two parties share a long-standing electoral partnership in the state. However, recent remarks by Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore and All India Professionals’ Congress chairman Praveen Chakravarty on power-sharing had fuelled speculation about strains within the alliance. With the intervention of the leadership on both sides, the focus has now shifted to finalising seat allocation.