Congress is set to hold a second round of discussions with the DMK in Chennai on Tuesday, amid continuing uncertainty over the alliance for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In recent weeks, a section within the Tamil Nadu Congress had argued for exploring an alliance with TAVEKA. The DMK’s lack of early interest in seat-sharing talks—despite Congress forming a committee about two months ago—had added to discontent, prompting some leaders, including MP Manickam Tagore, to publicly criticise the DMK alliance.
The issue was taken up to the Congress leadership, following which AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal met DMK president M.K. Stalin and efforts were made to pacify party functionaries opposed to the DMK tie-up.
On seat-sharing, the Congress leadership has reportedly set aside the demand for a share in government and pressed for 30 Assembly seats and two Rajya Sabha seats. Stalin, however, has maintained that the DMK can offer only 27 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat, keeping negotiations unresolved.
Against this backdrop, Tagore said the party would stand by the high command’s decision. In a post, he noted that individuals may have differences of opinion, but the party is bigger than everyone, adding that “unity is our strength.”
