Kanimozhi meets Rahul Gandhi ahead of Tamil Nadu polls; seat-sharing talks to begin soon

A source said that Rahul Gandhi demanded “respect” for the Congress in the alliance and reportedly gave an assurance that his party will not strain the relationship with DMK, a long-standing ally.

Chennai: DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Wednesday met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to break the stalemate in seat-sharing talks between the two parties for the 2026 assembly elections. Neither the DMK nor the Congress came out with the details of the meeting that took place at 10, Janpath, the official residence of Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

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.

Sources told DH that the meeting was “cordial” and there should be “no confusion” on the continuance of the alliance between the two parties. It is believed that the DMK has already hinted to the Congress leadership that it was willing to offer 27 or 28 assembly seats and possibly a Rajya Sabha berth, up from the 25 the party was allotted in 2021 polls.

They said Rahul Gandhi did broach the topic of power sharing, a demand of the Tamil Nadu state unit, on Wednesday and wanted to know the DMK’s opinion on the demand but Kanimozhi explained her party’s position on the issue and how it won’t work in a state like Tamil Nadu.

It is believed that Rahul Gandhi sought early constitution of the committee by the DMK to hold seat-sharing negotiations to which the Dravidian party agreed. “It is only logical that the state unit and the DMK leadership decide the numbers in Chennai and that’s what Gandhi also stressed. So, it is over to Chennai now,” a source said.

The source said that Rahul Gandhi demanded “respect” for the Congress in the alliance and reportedly gave an assurance that his party will not strain the relationship with DMK, a long-standing ally. Congress leaders from Tamil Nadu had told Gandhi on January 17 that they were not being respected by DMK functionaries at the district-level.

The sources said that Rahul Gandhi told Kanimozhi that the five-member committee was empowered to hold talks on the number of seats.

On its part, 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. It is likely that senior observer Mukul Wasnik will accompany Chodankar when the talks are held.

Another source said both leaders discussed the political situation in Tamil Nadu and the strategy for the polls.

“The question whether we are in an alliance with the DMK is irrelevant. Only because we want to continue the alliance, we formed a five-member committee which met the DMK leadership. If the DMK had formed the seat-sharing committee, there would have been no problem. The delay led to speculation,” the source added.

(With inputs from Shemin Joy in New Delhi)