PUDUCHERRY: After prolonged negotiations, the Congress-DMK combine has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory, with the Congress set to contest 16 seats and the DMK allotted 14.
The DMK would share a portion of its 14 seats with its alliance partners, including the VCK and the Left parties which are part of the INDIA bloc in Puducherry.
The announcement was made by DMK MP and party in-charge for Puducherry, S Jagathrakshakan, who addressed reporters alongside Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP V Vaithilingam at a hotel in Pondy on Monday evening.
Despite finalising the Congress-DMK seat split, the alliance is yet to announce the distribution of constituencies among the allies even after the last date for filing of nominations ended on Monday.
There is also no clarity on the alliance leadership structure, including the chief ministerial face or who will formally lead the bloc in the elections.
In several cases, candidates from alliance parties have filed nominations in the same constituencies due to the lack of a formal agreement. Jagathrakshakan indicated that these overlaps would be resolved soon. “We will discuss and finalise. Thereafter, the others will withdraw the nominations,” he said.
The decision on distribution of constituencies could even extend up to March 26, the last date for withdrawal of nominations, going by the time taken to finalise the seat-sharing agreement, say political analysts.
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“In Puducherry, we are contesting the elections as a coalition, including the Congress, DMK, CPI, CPM, IUML, and DMDK. ‘Prosperous Puducherry, Strong Puducherry’ is our slogan,” Jagathrakshakan said.
The issue of separate statehood for Puducherry will be the first campaign demand, he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to Puducherry for the election campaign, did not say anything about this issue.
Senior leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, are expected to campaign in Puducherry in the coming days, said Jagathrakshakan. Expressing confidence in the bloc’s electoral strength, he remarked, “We hold both the ‘Hand’ and the ‘Rising Sun’ symbols,” referring to the Congress and the DMK, respectively.