Chennai: The prolonged stalemate between the DMK and Congress over seat sharing for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections has been resolved following senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram’s intervention. Chidambaram met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at his Alwarpet residence in Chennai on Tuesday for final talks, and according to reliable sources, the alliance has now been sealed. An official announcement on seat allocation and the formal signing of the pact is expected later today.
Background of the deadlock
The Congress had been demanding a share in the government in Tamil Nadu and additional seats, leading to disputes with the DMK. Last Saturday, talks were held with the DMK seat-sharing committee. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai had stated that the DMK agreed to give a Rajya Sabha seat and the talks went smoothly at that time.
However, the following day, Congress in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Girish Chodankar, in an interview in Delhi, said that 25 seats were not enough and made remarks praising the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) led by actor Vijay. This became a major stumbling block in the seat-sharing negotiations. Reports indicated that the DMK had reached a point where it decided that it would not matter if the Congress left the alliance.
Congress high command intervention
The situation prompted senior Congress leaders to act. Some senior Congress leaders who had gone to Delhi, complained to party president Mallikarjun Kharge about Chodankar. Kharge, reportedly angered by the developments, is said to have scolded Chodankar over the phone.
When the talks handled by Chodankar failed, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Kharge decided to field senior leader P. Chidambaram, who shares a friendly rapport with Chief Minister Stalin. Sources indicate they also spoke to him via video call. Chidambaram reportedly set a condition that he would go alone and meet the Chief Minister. After the party high command agreed to this, Chidambaram proceeded to Chennai.
Congress – DMK alliance: Final negotiations
Prior to meeting Stalin, Chidambaram met Congress leader Selvaperunthagai at his residence in Nungambakkam for discussions. Following that meeting, both leaders went to Chief Minister Stalin’s residence in Alwarpet. DMK MP Kanimozhi and others participated in the talks, which lasted for about an hour.
According to sources, while the DMK wanted to offer 27 seats, the final arrangement is expected to be 28 seats along with one Rajya Sabha seat. Significantly, the seat-sharing agreement has been finalized without the involvement of top-level Congress in-charge Girish Chodankar.