Tamil Nadu elections: Congress gets 25 seats in DMK alliance
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) assigned 25 seats to the Assembly and the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency to Congress on Sunday, after a week of deadlock in negotiations between the allies ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The head of DMK, MK Stalin, and the head of the Tamil Nadu Congressional Committee, KS Alagiri, signed a formal pact at the DMK headquarters in Chennai, ‘Anna Arivalayam’, on Sunday.
Alagiri, after signing the agreement, said that it was an important day for the party, as the unity of secular forces was the most important factor in the current political situation in India.
“Our alliance is of great importance at a time when the BJP is spreading its ideology like an epidemic. What they (BJP) did in Puducherry was the same, sending a lieutenant governor to disrupt and stop the work of an elected government. So preventing the growth of BJP in Tamil Nadu is still important. This alliance is not only to capture power, but also to keep it as a lifeline for secular forces, ”said Alagiri.
Since the alliance talks between Congress and DMK began, there have been many ups and downs despite their long association. A section of DMK, close to the head of the party MK Stalin, wanted to keep Congress at bay and contest the maximum number of seats.
Congress initially demanded 34 seats and DMK was only willing to offer just 18. Later, the congressional demand was reduced to 30, even as DMK refused to increase its offer. DMK was then seen making changes to its tough stance before both parties managed to reach 25 seats for Congress, along with the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat, where a bypoll is needed following the death of Acting MP H Vasanthakumar due to Covid-19 last year. .
Of the 234 seats in the state, DMK has already allocated six seats to each of Thol Thirumavalavan’s Dalit VCK and CPI parties, parties that already have two MPs each in the alliance. Vaiko’s MDMK also received six seats, but the party’s candidates will compete in the DMK symbol, the rising sun. While Congress received 25, talks with another CPM ally are still ongoing as they are demanding more than what CPI got in the alliance.
Tamil Nadu, which has 234 seats in the Assembly, will go to the polls in one phase on April 6. The results will be announced on May 2.
.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.