New Delhi: Things appeared to be looking up for the DMK-Congress alliance ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, as DMK MP Kanimozhi met with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday.
For the past few weeks, the grand old party’s Tamil Nadu unit had been anxious over the delay in seat-sharing talks, as it awaited a response from the DMK, the dominant party in the region. Earlier, a five-member Congress panel for seat-sharing talks, led by AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, had met with DMK leader and Chief Minister MK Stalin on December 3, 2025, and presented its two key demands.
The Congress, which has been supporting the DMK in the state for two decades, wanted more seats and a share in power in 2026. In 2021, the Congress was allotted 25 seats in the alliance and won 19. This time, the party felt it should get 35-40 seats.
However, the DMK was not pleased with these demands. The delay in seat-sharing talks led to heated exchanges between leaders of both parties. As tensions in the alliance escalated, Rahul Gandhi assessed the ground situation with senior party leaders in Delhi on January 17 and took it upon himself to resolve the matter. He also instructed state leaders to refrain from making any controversial statements on alliance issues.
According to party insiders, the meeting between DMK MP Kanimozhi and Rahul Gandhi was a positive development. Kanimozhi is also the daughter of the party’s founder and former Chief Minister, the late Karunanidhi. AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge secretary Suraj Hegde told ETV Bharat, “This is definitely a positive development. We are awaiting the details.”
According to party insiders, the details included the specific seats that the Congress would be allotted, which the party had been working on regrouping for the past few weeks, focusing on approximately 125 seats. The AICC screening committee, led by former Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo, met with Tamil Nadu Congress leaders on January 19 and discussed the ground situation.
Party insiders said the panel would only be able to function properly once the Congress clarifies which seats it will contest. Singh Deo told ETV Bharat that party managers said that clarity on the seats would allow them to focus better on those areas.
“The meeting between leaders of both parties in Delhi seems like a positive step. I hope the alliance-related issues will be resolved soon. Our work will only begin once it’s clear which seats we are going to contest. As far as the Congress asking for more seats is concerned, I think that’s very natural for a party,” he said.
According to party insiders, the state unit has received applications from nearly 5,000 candidates for all 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, and the process will remain open until January 31. For the past few weeks, the Tamil Nadu Congress has been trying to strengthen its presence in the southern state by protesting against the old rural jobs act, MNREGA, and the large-scale revision of the voter list, which resulted in the removal of approximately 97 lakh names.
Hegde said, “We are making every effort to raise issues that affect the voters. The voter list revision is a major concern among the voters. We have trained our booth agents for the blocks and asked them to be vigilant. We appealed to the Gram Sabhas to pass resolutions against the removal of MNREGA, and they responded.”
He added, “The people of Puducherry are demanding full statehood and an accountable government that takes responsibility for employment, governance, and the future of Puducherry. Our yatra is receiving a very good response there. The corrupt government has systematically damaged Puducherry. Record unemployment, fake medicines, and negligent governance have brought the people to the streets.” Besides their displeasure over the alliance with the DMK, the entry of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK party ahead of crucial elections had brought to the fore differing opinions within the established party, with leaders divided over whether to stick with their old ally or choose a new one. However, party insiders said there was a strong possibility that the established party would ultimately choose to stick with its old partner.
