DMK allots 10 seats to Congress in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

Chennai, March 9

Repeating its 2019 seat-sharing formula for principal ally the Congress, the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Saturday allotted 10 seats in the state and neighbouring Puducherry to the national party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The Dravidian party gave Congress nine seats in Tamil Nadu, besides the lone Puducherry segment.

DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin and TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai finalised the deal, in the presence of AICC leaders KC Venugopal and Ajoy Kumar.

Addressing reporters, Venugopal exuded confidence of the DMK-led combine winning all 40 seats in TN and Puducherry and said the “bonding” between the Congress and the DMK “is intact”.

Meanwhile, six years after its founding and fighting two elections by itself, actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) on Saturday joined the ruling DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu and extended its support to the bloc for the upcoming polls.

Amid speculations that Haasan’s party might be allotted seats to contest the parliamentary polls, the DMK gave MNM one seat for the 2025 Rajya Sabha polls.

Haasan and Stalin finalised the deal at the DMK headquarters in Chennai.

Speaking to reporters after clinching the deal, Haasan said his move to join the alliance was done for the sake of the country and not for any consideration for post. Haasan extended his party’s “full support” to the alliance.

The MNM will campaign in the 39 Lok Sabha seats in TN and the lone Puducherry segment, according to the understanding arrived at by the two leaders.

Haasan launched his party in 2018 amid much fanfare, and then declared it will have a “centrist” outlook of issues. The party contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 Assembly polls by itself, but was routed in the hustings as the DMK-led bloc emerged victorious on both occasions.