CHENNAI: Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T S Singh Deo, who heads the party’s candidate screening committee for Tamil Nadu, met Chief Minister MK Stalin at his residence on Sunday night. The meeting came amid uncertainty over seat-sharing talks, as the ruling DMK had formed a committee but did not fix a date or formally invite the Congress for negotiations.
In the meeting that lasted for about 45 minutes, the Congress delegation stressed for a larger number of seats than it got in 2021, sources said. Venugopal met DMK president MK Stalin separately, who was accompanied by DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, they added. Although the numbers have not been finalised, sources said that the DMK was in no mood to increase the seats for Congress.
"While Venugopal requested an increase in the number of seats, DMK was stubborn in maintaining the same 25 seats that were allocated in the 2021 Assembly election. Stalin has conveyed to Venugopal that they cannot increase the number as per Congress' demands, as they have to accommodate new allies," sources said. They added that any increase in seats for the Congress is likely to be nominal at best, limited to one or two seats.
The meeting assumes significance as the committee formed by the DMK has not yet invited Congress for seat-sharing talks. The committee held talks with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Sunday and has invited Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) for seat-sharing talks on Monday. Talks with CPM and CPI are scheduled on February 26 and 27, respectively.
During talks with the IUML, the DMK had offered two seats, one less than the three seats offered in 2021. "This is one less than what we contested in the previous election. The committee said that they are reducing the seats since new parties have joined the alliance and have to accommodate them," IUML National President Kader Mohideen said.
According to DMK senior leaders, the party is attempting to tighten its grip over its alliance as the coalition has expanded with more parties seeking accommodation. After 2021, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Neethi Maiam and late actor-politician Vijaykant's Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) joined the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
A senior DMK leader who did not want to be named said that the party wants to give the same number of seats to all allies except VCK.
"The party intends to contest in at least 165 constituencies this time. We want to allocate the same number of seats to all parties except VCK. Since the 2021 Assembly election, politically as well electorally, VCK's presence has grown well. So, there might be a nominal increase in the number of seats allocated to VCK," the senior leader said.
In the last Assembly election, the DMK-led alliance registered a victory, winning 159 of the 234 seats. While the DMK alone secured 133 seats, its allies together contributed 26 victories. The Congress contested 25 constituencies and won 18 seats. The VCK contested six seats and won four. The CPM and CPI each contested six seats and each won two. The IUML contested in three constituencies but drew a blank.
Despite the DMK's position that the party would retain the same number of seats similar to 2021, several long-time allies including the Congress, VCK, CPM and CPI are now pushing for a larger share.