The ruling DMK and the Congress signed the seat-sharing pact for the Assembly elections on March 4, 2026
| Photo Credit:
Sindhu Nagaraj _11534
The pact was formally signed by DMK President and Chief Minister MK Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President K Selvaperunthagai.
The agreement puts to rest speculation that the two long-time allies were heading for a split amid delays in finalising the seat-sharing formula. Over the past few days, leaders from both parties had held multiple rounds of negotiations to iron out differences.
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections, the Congress, as part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, was allotted 25 seats to contest and won 18 seats (in the 234-member assembly) with a vote share of 4.27 per cent.
Sources indicated that a breakthrough was achieved after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram met Stalin on Tuesday.
DMK Rajya Sabha candidates
Meanwhile, the DMK announced Tiruchi Siva and Constantine Ravindran as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, the DMK also allotted one Rajya Sabha seat to the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), which recently joined the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.
The decision followed discussions between Stalin and DMDK treasurer LK Sudheesh on Tuesday evening.
In a joint statement, the two parties said that the number of Assembly seats to be contested by the DMDK would be decided at their next round of talks.
Published on March 4, 2026