DMK begins talks with allies; to follow 2019 seat-sharing formula

'It is very likely that we will implement the 2019 seat-sharing formula with some changes,' said a senior DMK leader.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is likely to follow the 2019 seat-sharing formula for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under which it will contest about 23 to 24 of the 39 constituencies and allot the remaining seats to alliance partners of which Congress will get the lion’s share.

The party, which kicked-off the consultation process with the Congress on Sunday, will hold talks with Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, CPI (M), CPI, IUML, MDMK, and KMDK in the coming days on the number of seats to be allotted to them for the April-May elections.

Actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is likely to be allotted one seat in the event of the party joining the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), sources told DH.

In the 2019 elections, DMK fielded candidates in 24 seats – four nominees from VCK, MDMK, and KMDK, and IKJ faced the polls in the party’s Rising Sun symbol, Congress (9), CPI-M and CPI (2 each), VCK and IUML (1 each). Except one Congress candidate from Theni, all 38 won the elections, leaving only one seat to the AIADMK-BJP.

“It is very likely that we will implement the 2019 seat-sharing formula with some changes. While we are particular in ensuring that we should have a good strength in the Lok Sabha, we also want to keep our alliance partners happy. That is why we believe that the 2019 formula will be acceptable for everyone,” a senior DMK leader told DH.

The leader noted that DMK President M K Stalin has been stressing that the success of the SPA in Tamil Nadu was the unity among the alliance partners and that the party was committed to ensure that the combine stays strong.

Congress is believed to have asked for a double-digit number as against nine seats it got in 2019 apart from the lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry, while the VCK wants its number to be increased from two to three in the 2024 polls.

“The alliance partners may ask for more seats this time than that they got in 2019. But we will convince them as we believe we should also contest in over 20 seats. Congress should also understand that we are being very reasonable unlike its alliance partners elsewhere ” the DMK leader said. He added that the Congress is likely to get 10 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

DMK also plans to conclude the seat-sharing talks and identify the constituencies to be contested by the party and alliance partners by the end of February and hit the campaign trail. “IJK is no longer with the DMK alliance, and that seat may go to Kamal Haasan,” another DMK leader said.

VCK, an influential Dalit outfit, believes that the party should be allowed to contest in its own symbol rather than the DMK’s Rising Sun which will help it get the recognized party tag.

“We have been a very loyal ally of the DMK with a strong cadre base. We hope the DMK will recognize our strength and allot three Lok Sabha seats this time. Anything less than three will not enthuse our cadre,” a senior VCK leader told DH.

The leader added that the DMK should consider the VCK’s “highly successful” state-level conference in Tiruchirapalli on January 26 as a “testimony” of its strength and allot seats accordingly.