CHENNAI: After prolonged deliberations and lobbying at different levels, the constituencies in which the Congress will contest under the DMK-led alliance was finalised on Monday. Out of 39 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress will contest 9 in Tamil Nadu and 1 in Puducherry.
As per the pact signed between Chief Minister MK Stalin and TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai at the DMK headquarters today, the Congress got back six of the nine constituencies it contested from in Tamil Nadu in 2019. The party will contest again in Tiruvallur (SC), Sivaganga, Krishnagiri, Karur, Virudhunagar, and Kanyakumari.
Three new seats were also given to the party including Puducherry constituency which it won in 2019. The Congress will contest from Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, and Tirunelveli in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In 2019, it had contested from Tiruchy, Theni, and Arani. They had won Tiruchy and Arani but lost Theni in 2019.
The DMK has also allotted Cuddalore and Tirunelveli, which it won last time, to Congress. It can be recalled that incumbent DMK MP of Cuddalore TRVS Ramesh was facing a murder case. DMK’s MP from Tirunelveli S. Gnanathiraviam also faced several allegations.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the DMK-led alliance had secured a landslide victory by winning 38 out of 39 seats. The Congress, which was also a part of the alliance, had bagged 8 seats out of the nine contested. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, had won only one seat.
Soon after allocating constituencies to the Congress, MDMK was allotted Tiruchy constituency under the DMK-led alliance. The allocation to MDMK could not be decided earlier because of the delays in finalising constituencies for the Congress.
The IUML and KMDK (DMK Symbol) have been given one seat each while VCK, CPM, CPI get two seats each in the Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the ruling DMK will contest on 21 seats.
The Congress and the DMK are part of the INDIA opposition alliance bloc, cobbled together to defeat the BJP. Makkal Needhi Maiam president and actor Kamal Hassan has also announced his decision to support the DMK led alliance in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told media today that they would win all ten seats. "The Congress and the DMK will not get separated," he asserted.
On Sunday, TN CM and DMK Chief MK Stalin had attended the closing day of the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra in Mumbai. Stalin applauded former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and plegded his support to the INDIA bloc.
"My dear brother Rahul Gandhi has completed the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, traversing the length and breadth of India to unite us all. With a heart filled with compassion and a vision for justice, he stands as a guiding light, countering divisive forces with the strength of unity and inclusivity," CM Stalin had posted on X.
(With Online Desk inputs)