Congress
is likely to sign a
seat-sharing
pact with
DMK
by March 5 for contesting 9
Lok Sabha
seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone Puducherry seat, multiple sources confirmed to TOI on Friday. Thol. Thirumavalavan’s VCK is also set to sign a
pact
with DMK chief M K Stalin for two seats on Saturday.
Congress had contested the same number of seats in alliance with DMK in 2019, but lost Theni to AIADMK.
The DMK-led alliance recorded a massive win, winning in the remaining 38 seats in TN. “DMK has refused to part with more seats in TN despite persistent demand by Congress for a two-digit number,” a senior Congress leader said.
Insiders said Congress leaders would consult Rahul Gandhi, who is landing in New Delhi on Saturday after his brief UK visit. Congress has commissioned a survey on the performance of its MPs and it might consider changing some of the seats where it won last time depending on the outcome of the survey, sources said.
Even as talks are on to include MNM leader Kamal Haasan into the INDIA bloc, it remains unclear if the actor will be content with fighting on the Congress symbol or would want a Rajya Sabha seat from DMK’s quota.
While VCK appears set to retain its existing seats, Villupuram and Chidambaram, DMK’s other ally, MDMK, is likely to get Virudhunagar.
English (US) ·