Congress-DMK finalise seat-sharing in Puducherry after nominations end; MP V Vaithilingam to be CM face

Hours after the nominations ended, the Congress and DMK finally concluded their seat-sharing talks for the April 9 assembly polls with the former contesting in 16 seats and the latter in 14 seats, including two to allies.

Since the formal agreement eluded till Monday evening, Congress and DMK candidates filed their nomination papers in all 30 assembly constituencies – they will now withdraw their candidature from seats that have been allotted to the alliance partners.

“As per the deal, Congress will contest in 16 seats. The DMK has been allotted 14 seats which will be shared between the party and smaller allies,” senior DMK leader S Jagathrakshakan told reporters in Puducherry.

The agreement was signed after hectic negotiations for over a week with no resolution in sight – the numbers were decided on Sunday night after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram met Chief Minister M K Stalin, but differences persisted over the seats.

Puducherry Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP V Vaithilingam will be the face of the Congress-DMK alliance for the polls and will take on incumbent Chief Minister N Rangaswamy in Thattanchavadi constituency in the Union Territory. The rivalry between Vaithilingam and Rangaswamy dates back to their days together in the Congress when the former led a rebellion against the latter and succeeded him as Chief Minister in September 2008.

Vaithilingam, who was CM twice between 1991-1996 and 2008-2011 till Rangaswamy trounced him after launching his own party AINRC, is a popular leader and known for his clean image. He is likely to be the Chief Minister if the Congress-DMK alliance wins the assembly polls.

Former CM V Narayanaswamy was also keen to enter the electoral race, but the party gave a seat to his daughter and made him withdraw. Sources in the Congress told DH that the party was clear that Vaithilingam has to be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate to turn the tide in favour of the party.

“He is quite popular and that’s why we decided fielding him in the assembly elections despite him being an MP. We needed a strong leader to take on Rangaswamy and there is none except Vaithilingam,” the leader said.

With this, Rangaswamy and Vaithilingam will fight it out for the Chief Minister’s chair once again. Though the fight is likely to be two-cornered between the Congress and AINRC, TVK cannot be taken lightly as the actor is quite popular in the UT as well.