CHENNAI: Cadres of Left parties, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) have expressed satisfaction over the seats allotted to them in the DMK-led alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections, terming them largely favourable.
CPI has been allocated Thalli, Tiruthuraipoondi (SC), Srivilliputhur, Tiruppur (North) and Bhavanisagar (SC). Party sources said Thali has remained favourable since 2006, barring 2016, while Tiruthuraipoondi has traditionally backed Left parties. Srivilliputhur has been won by CPI thrice. Tiruppur (North) reflects a growing base based on past vote share, while Bhavanisagar, which it narrowly lost in 2021, is seen as a potential gain.
CPM will contest from Kilvellur, Gandharvakkottai, Padmanabhapuram and Palani. The party has bagged Kilvelur twice since 2009, while Gandharvakkottai is a sitting seat, and Padmanabhapuram and Palani are considered favourable due to the alliance’s strength. MMK has been allotted Manapparai and Nagapattinam, with Manapparai being its sitting seat.
IUML will contest from Papanasam and Vaniyambadi, both seen as favourable, including one from its wish list. MDMK has been given four seats, though only Madurai (South) and Kadayanallur were part of its preference list.
Meanwhile, parties have begun naming candidates. IUML has fielded AM Shajahan from Papanasam and SSB Syed Farooq from Vaniyambadi. MMK president MH Jawahirullah will contest from Nagapattinam, while sitting MLA P Abdul Samad will contest from Manapparai.
The Kongunadu Makkal Desia Katchi (KMDK) has renominated Tiruchengode MLA ER Eswaran and fielded K Nithyananadhan from Pollachi. DMDK announced 10 candidates, including Premalatha Vijayakanth (Virudhachalam), Dr V Elangovan for Dharmapuri, R Mohanraj for Salem(West), V Vijayaprabhakar for Virudhunagar, AR Elangovan for Omalur, L Venkatesan for Mailam, D Murugesan for Pallavaram, D Krishnamoorthy for Tiruttani, KB Prathab for Gudiyattam and TP Saravanan for Polur assembly constituency.
MDMK candidates include S Senthil Nathan (Modakkuruchi), T M Rajendran (Kadayanallur), M Boominathan (Madurai South) and Senthil Selvan (Sirkazhi-SC). Alliance partners expressed confidence that the seat-sharing arrangement would work to their advantage in the upcoming polls.