The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on March 9 sealed a seat-sharing pact with the Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress, which was allotted 10 seats — nine in Tamil Nadu and a lone seat in Puducherry.
The agreement for the upcoming Lok Sabha election was signed by DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai. Earlier, the DMK also sealed the pact with Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and allocated one Rajya Sabha seat to it, the agreement being signed by Mr. Stalin and Mr. Haasan.
The Congress also contested in 10 constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and won all but the Theni seat, where former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan lost to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) candidate P. Ravindranath, son of former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
Talking to reporters after signing the agreement, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said, “Congress leaders would campaign for the victory of all the candidates of the DMK and other alliance partners much like how they would work for the victory of Congress candidates.”
Asked about constituencies the party expected to contest, both Mr. Selvaperunthagai and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal said it would be discussed later. “Our leaders in Tamil Nadu will deliberate the issue with the DMK leaders,” Mr. Venugopal said and expressed hope that the alliance would win all the seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. “Tamil Nadu will set the agenda and model for the country that divisive forces will fall,” he added.
Mr. Venugopal said the government under the leadership of Mr. Stalin was fighting divisive forces of the country and the anti-federal attitude of the BJP government at the Centre. “Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and his government are attacking the pride of Tamil Nadu. So it is important to fight against the divisive, anti-people and anti-poor government which is ruling the country. We will fight together and we will win together,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DMK also finalised the poll deal with MNM. As per the pact, the MNM will work for the DMK-led alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
MNM had contested alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the 2021 State Assembly election, and now, is in an alliance for the first time since its formation. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Haasan said MNM has decided to work for the DMK-led alliance.
With this, the DMK has now allocated nine seats in Tamil Nadu to the Congress (plus one in Puducherry); two seats each to the two Left parties, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist); one seat to the MDMK; the two reserved constituencies of Villupuram and Chidambaram to the VCK; the Ramanathapuram constituency to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Namakkal constituency to the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK).
