House not in order yet, TN Cong readies for seat negotiations with DMK
Earlier in the day, the five-member coordination committee that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge constituted met for the first time at Sathyamoorthy Bhavan, its State headquarters, and commenced preparatory work for negotiations within the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC)
CHENNAI: Even before revamping its organisational structure, the Congress has decided to identify the seats where it has a better prospect of winning and begin formal negotiations with the alliance leader DMK.
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) has begun shortlisting constituencies it is intending to contest in the 2026 Assembly elections, said the State unit president K Selvaperunthagai on Sunday, adding that its delegation would meet the DMK leadership next week to formally initiate the seat-sharing discussions.
However, it is planning to choose presidents for various district units only by December 9 though the polls are merely months away.
Earlier in the day, the five-member coordination committee that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge constituted met for the first time at Sathyamoorthy Bhavan, its State headquarters, and commenced preparatory work for negotiations within the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
The panel consists of Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, Selvaperunthagai, AICC secretaries Suraj MN Hegde and Nivedith Alva, and Killiyoor MLA and Congress Legislature Party leader S Rajeshkumar. All members arrived in Chennai on Sunday for the meeting.
“We have started the process of identifying the constituencies from where the Congress should contest in 2026. For this, we are reviewing seats where the party has a strong winning possibility,” Selvaperunthagai told DT Next after the meeting.
However, he clarified that the party has not finalised how many seats it would seek from the DMK. “We have not arrived at any number yet. Our focus now is to prepare a realistic and winnable list. Once the list is ready, we will meet the DMK leadership next week to discuss seat sharing,” he said.
AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar said all district presidents would be appointed by December 9 and asserted that the Bihar election outcome would not be repeated in Tamil Nadu, as the Congress was strengthening its organisation ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters after the first meeting of the panel of leaders that AICC constituted to hold discussions with alliance leader DMK, Chodankar said, “The Bihar election result will not reflect in Tamil Nadu. In Bihar, the Election Commission defeated the people; that will not happen here.”
He said all district presidents would be appointed by December 9 and added that senior Congress leaders would tour the districts, meet local office-bearers, and gather ground reports.
“The five-member committee held consultations with senior leaders today. We discussed our organisational strengths and weaknesses in detail, and also about the measures needed to strengthen the party ahead of the 2026 elections,” he added.
Meanwhile, TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai noted that Sunday’s deliberations were preliminary but essential for developing the party’s negotiation framework. The committee is expected to submit its initial recommendations to the AICC before the Congress initiates formal discussions with the DMK.
With the Congress seeking to strengthen its organisational foothold in Tamil Nadu, the early launch of internal planning indicates a more assertive approach as the party positions itself for the 2026 electoral contest.
