Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 23 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin was not willing to grant Congress more than 25 seats in the seat-sharing formula of the state's ruling alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls, sources said on Monday.
After Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal met MK Stalin on Sunday, Congress sources said that the party had demanded 45 seats. Congress demanded that the DMK be given 20 of the 40 seats it lost in the 2021 elections.
Stalin and KC Venugopal have agreed to continue the seat-sharing talks. As per sources, the talks have already resumed between Congress's Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish and DMK leader Kanimozhi.
Congress sources said the party's demand for 45 Assembly seats is based on a review of the 2021 results. In the last election, the DMK contested 173 seats, winning 133 and losing 40, mostly to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to party insiders, Congress believes at least 20 of those lost seats are winnable if allotted to it, citing stronger local presence and better consolidation in direct contests.
Earlier today, Venugopal said that information regarding the DMK-Congress alliance would be shared soon, and that talks with CM MK Stalin were "cordial", but the results are awaited.
Speaking to the media, Venugopal said, "We will let you know, finally. The discussion was cordial, but we are waiting for the results."
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, "As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, MK Stalin is leading the alliance, and we are with him. The Congress High Committee has spoken to the DMK. We will reach a conclusion on the number of seats in one or two rounds of talks. Chief Minister Stalin has formed a good and big alliance, so we have a good chance of winning."
DMK treasurer and Lok Sabha MP TR Baalu on Monday held discussions with the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) President MH Jawahirullah over the seat sharing ahead of the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
After the meeting, Jawahirullah stated that the MMK has sought five seats from the DMK in the polls.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has also sought five assembly constituencies in the seat-sharing formula.
The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the MK Stalin-led alliance will look to project the 'Dravidian Model 2.0' for the win against the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest.
In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively.
While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats.
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