Chennai, March 4: The Congress high command has entrusted senior leader P. Chidambaram with finalizing the seat-sharing agreement with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu.
This decision came after discussions among the party’s top leadership in New Delhi, indicating a desire to expedite negotiations and advance election preparations in the state.
According to party sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has already given his consent to party president Mallikarjun Kharge for this arrangement. Based on this approval, Kharge has assigned Chidambaram the responsibility of conducting final negotiations with DMK leadership and finalizing the alliance agreement.
This move places the experienced former Union minister at the center of negotiations with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s party, which leads the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu.
Sources familiar with the discussions revealed that the DMK has offered Congress 27 assembly seats under the alliance formula. However, indications suggest that the final agreement may see this number slightly increased to 28 to meet the demands of Congress leadership. In addition to assembly seats, there is also a possibility of Congress receiving a Rajya Sabha seat as part of a broader political agreement between the two allied parties.
Insiders within the party indicate that the Rajya Sabha seat will be a crucial component of the agreement aimed at maintaining balance within the alliance.
Negotiations over seat sharing between DMK and Congress have been ongoing for several weeks, involving extensive discussions. Initially, Congress had sought a larger number of seats.
This dialogue has heightened speculation about potential tensions within the alliance, which has been a key pillar of the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu. However, recent developments suggest that both parties are eager to maintain their partnership and avoid uncertainty ahead of the election schedule, which is expected to be announced by the Election Commission soon.
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