Lok Sabha polls: DMK seals seat-sharing pact with Congress, allots 10 seats in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry to grand old party

Chennai: Concluding the seat-sharing arrangement with alliance partners, Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Saturday allotted 10 Lok Sabha seats, including one in neighbouring Puducherry, to the Congress, after keeping 21 constituencies for itself, in the April-May general elections.

The agreement between Congress and DMK was arrived at after talks between the two sides were deadlocked over a host of issues, including the difference between the number of seats sought by the national party and the figure offered by the Dravidian outfit. However, the differences were ironed out between the top leadership of the two parties.

Following the 2019 Lok Sabha seat-sharing formula, the DMK has allotted 10 seats to the Congress, two each to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a prominent Dalit party, CPI(M), and CPI, and one each to IUML, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK), and MDMK of Vaiko.

DMK will contest in the remaining 21 seats against 23 in 2019 – candidate of MDMK and one nominee from VCK contested on the party’s rising son symbol in the last elections. DH had in its January 30 edition reported that the DMK will follow the 2019 seat-sharing formula in a bid to avoid any differences within the alliance.

“We are happy to declare formally the alliance between Congress and DMK for the Lok Sabha polls. The bonding between the DMK and Congress is intact. The alliance will win all 40 seats,” Congress General Secretary (Organisation), K C Venugopal, told reporters here after meeting DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin.

While the seats to be contested by IUML, KDMK, and VCK have been identified subject to change, the constituencies to be contested by the Congress and other alliance partners will be known within a week’s time.

Congress is likely to retain a chunk of its sitting seats, while a couple of constituencies like Tiruchirapalli are to be changed and allotted to DMK or other alliance partners.

The DMK is also believed to have flagged anti-incumbency against sitting Congress MPs in constituencies like Karur, Tiruvallur, Krishnagiri, Arani, and Sivaganga, but the decision to re-nominate the existing candidates or change them has been left to the national party.

With seat-sharing settled amicably, the DMK will now focus on finalizing candidates by beginning the interview process for those who have evinced interest in contesting the Lok Sabha polls. The development in the DMK camp comes even as the alliances led by principal Opposition AIADMK and BJP are yet to come to shape with parties like the PMK keeping their cards close to chest.

AIADMK is holding talks with DMDK of late actor Vijayakanth and Puthiya Tamizhagam of Dalit leader M Krishnaswamy, while the BJP has already roped in Tamil Maanila Congress of former Union Minister G K Vasan and other small parties. PMK, which has a committed vote bank of about 6 per cent and considerable influence in the northern region of the state, is being wooed both by the AIADMK and BJP.

Congress and DMK have been in an alliance since 2004, except between March 2013 and February 2016, and has fought every election sans the 2014 Lok Sabha polls together. The alliance has won in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2019, and 2021, while losing in 2011 and 2016 assembly polls.