DMK inks seat-sharing pact with Congress in TN, allots 25 seats & Kanyakumari LS seat

Congress and DMK finalized the seat-sharing pact for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on Sunday as the Dravidian party allotted 25 Assembly seats and the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha Constituency to the grand old party. TNCC chief KS Alagiri, Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao inked the seat-sharing pact with DMK supremo MK Stalin after meeting the latter in DMK's headquarters in Chennai on Sunday. Congress was involved in multiple rounds of talks with DMK to negotiate seat-sharing, with the former demanding more seats to contest in while the latter remained hesitant to do so.

READ | DMK To Finalize Seat-sharing With Congress; To Offer 25 Seats + Kanyakumari LS Ticket

Congress inks seat-sharing agreement with DMK

Speaking to the media after signing the seat-sharing pact with DMK, Congress leader KS Alagiri claimed that they had happily signed the agreement with their ally to fight the upcoming polls unitedly against the AIADMk-led alliance. The TNCC chief claimed that their aim was to overthrow the government supported by the BJP before establishing a Kamraj-type of government in Tamil Nadu. Congress' Dinesh Gundu Rao ruled out any possibilities of dissatisfaction within the party over the allotment of seats and said that the aim was for the DMK-VCK-Congress alliance to fight unitedly to sweep the upcoming polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. 

READ | DMK Concludes Deal With CPI, Another-ally, Congress Vows To Fight For A Respectable Number Of Seats

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) has entered into an alliance with the primary opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Elaborating on the alliance, MDMK's chief Vaiko informed on Saturday that the DMK chief MK Stalin has signed an agreement by which 6 assembly seats have been allotted to MDMK. Earlier on Thursday, DMK allocated six seats to its ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and three seats to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Moreover, as MK Stalin eyes a maiden term as the Tamil Nadu CM, the DMK has allocated two seats to the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK). DMK-Congress will have to finalize a formula soon as the last date to file the nominations is approaching which is on March 19.

READ | Tamil Nadu Congress Chief Breaks Down After Party Seniors Were 'insulted' By Ally DMK

Meanwhile, the seat-sharing talks between DMK and CPI(M) for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections remained inconclusive on Saturday, the Left party's state secretary K Balakrishnan informed. The initial rounds of seat-sharing talks between DMK and CPI(M) failed after the latter demanded seats in double-digits while the former denied it. CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan revealed that DMK's offer would be discussed by the party's working committee before a decision is made. The DMK on Friday allotted six seats to ally the Communist Party of India (CPI) for the April 6 Assembly polls.

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