Constitute committee to hold seat-sharing talks ahead of 2026 polls: Congress to DMK

While clarifying that there was “no discontent”, the Congress on Tuesday asked its senior ally in Tamil Nadu, DMK, to constitute a committee to discuss seat-sharing for the 2026 assembly polls.

The party made the appeal through the media after district presidents and senior leaders expressed concern over the “delay” in alliance talks at a meeting with Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

Briefing reporters about the meeting, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K Selvaperunthagai said his party was ready to discuss the numbers anytime and that the tour programs of Kharge, and Gandhi are ready.

“We are ready. We are waiting for the DMK to constitute the committee so that we can discuss the numbers. Our demand for early constitution of the panel is to ensure that there are no last-minute glitches. We experienced a lot of problems in electioneering in Bihar and other states due to the delay in seat-sharing,” the TNCC chief said.

Selvaperunthagai added that a majority of the leaders who attended Tuesday’s meeting expressed their concern over the delay in finalising the alliance with the DMK. “They expressed their opinion and our leadership made some comments. I will meet the DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin as early as possible and convey the message of Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

The Congress leader said there was “no discontent, but it would be nice if the negotiation talks gets over soon.” “It would only be easy for us to identify the seats we will contest and finalise candidates,” he added.

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of public bickering between leaders of Congress and DMK over share in power, and the number of seats to be contested in the April-May elections. The meeting also came at a time when there is intense speculation that actor Vijay’s fledgling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam has offered “high number of seats” and power share to the Congress if the latter came forward to ally with the former.

On January 28, DMK’s Kanimozhi Karunanidhi met Rahul Gandhi in a bid to resolve their differences. The Congress leader sought “due respect” for his party men, while the DMK conveyed its displeasure in the way AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar handled the alliance and suggested that a relatively senior person should lead the talks.