File photo of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK is likely to kick-start seat-sharing negotiations with allies for the 2026 assembly elections from the second week of February, even as the party is planning to further strengthen the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) by inducting new partners.
Sources told DH that the DMK will constitute a committee consisting of senior leaders to negotiate with alliance partners this week following which the allies will be invited one by one for initial talks. “The first round of talks with allies – starting with Congress – is likely to begin next week. We hope to finish the talks and finalise the number of seats to each party in about two weeks’ time. The goal is to finish this job before the party’s state-wide conference in Tiruchirapalli on March 8,” a senior DMK leader told DH.
The development comes amid assertion by Chief Minister M K Stalin that the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu was “strong and united” amid a strain in the relationship between his party and its long-standing ally, Congress. The differences between the two parties are being ironed out, sources said, adding that the committees of both the DMK and Congress will decide on the numbers.
The “delay” in the constitution of the committee – Congress formed a five-member panel in November – by the DMK was cited as one of the reasons for the friction between the two parties. “The committee will be formed this week. There was no delay as the usual practice is to begin such work in the first week of February,” the DMK leader said.
As part of the efforts to strengthen the alliance, the DMK has reached out to late actor Vijayakanth’s DMDK with an offer of six assembly seats and possibly a Rajya Sabha berth. But the actor’s wife Premalatha, who heads the party, is insisting on a double-digit number.
Another DMK leader said the party would offer 27 or 28 assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha berth to the Congress, which is planning to pitch for anywhere between 35 to 40 seats. Congress, which contested in 25 assembly constituencies in 2021, is divided on the number of seats to be sought from the DMK with a section pushing for accepting less than 30 seats and concentrating on the strike rate with another batting for more numbers.
“Many leaders feel Congress should focus on the strike rate rather than demanding more seats. We should aspire to win more than 20 seats out of the 27 or 28 to be allotted rather than getting 40 seats and winning only in 15 or 20 seats. Our focus should be winning more seats, not contesting more seats,” a Congress MLA told DH.
DMK leaders said like Congress, the VCK is also expected to be offered eight assembly seats, two up from the six the party contested in 2021 polls while the Left parties are likely to be allotted the same six seats each. “We are offering seats based on the strike rate of parties. The two Left parties contested six each and won only two each, while VCK won four of the six it contested,” the leader added.