DMK and Congress ink seat-sharing agreement after weeks of tense talks

4 minute learnchennaiUp to date: March 5, 2026 05:29 AM (IST)

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress finalized the seat-sharing settlement for 2026 on Wednesday evening. tamil nadu state meeting electionbringing an finish to weeks of anxious negotiations that at one level appeared headed for collapse. The deal (28 seats in Parliament and one seat in Rajya Sabha) was concluded after a decisive intervention by senior Congress chief P Chidambaram, who intervened in Tuesday’s negotiations on behalf of Social gathering President Mallikarjun Kharge and Social gathering President Sonia Gandhi and held essential talks with Prime Minister MK Stalin in Chennai.

The breakthrough comes after practically two months of inner friction inside Congress and public statements from some leaders which have led to hypothesis that the alliance itself could disintegrate. Alliance talks started earlier this yr with a niche of round 16 seats between the Congress’ calls for and the DMK’s intentions to supply. By Monday, the hole had narrowed to a few to 4 seats, however distrust continued as statements by Congress basic secretary Manickam Tagore and AICC basic secretary Girish Chodankar urged the celebration was exploring different political choices as nicely.

Arun Janardhanan is an skilled and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Categorical. Primarily based within the state, his reporting combines ground-level entry and long-form readability, offering readers with a nuanced understanding of South Indian politics, judiciary and tradition, and reflecting each the depth of his experience and enduring authority. Experience Geographic focus: Simply as our correspondent in Tamil Nadu targeted on politics, crime, religion and battle, Mr. Janardhanan has additionally reported extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long physique of labor on elections, governance and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings by means of in-depth articles and interviews. Key protection areas: State politics and governance: Detailed protection of the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of latest political actors akin to actor Vijay’s TVK, defections inside the celebration, tensions between centrist states and the position of governors, and many others. Authorized and Judicial Affairs: Constant protection of the Madras Excessive Court docket, together with disputes associated to faith and circumstances involving state energy and civil liberties. Investigations: Deep-dive collection on landmark circumstances and unresolved points such because the Tirupati encounter and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, in addition to a number of investigation collection in Tamil Nadu. Tradition, Society and Disaster: From cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies, we report on cultural teams, language debates and catastrophe protection, with native particulars. His reporting gained the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. Past journalism, Janardhanan can also be a screenwriter. His Malayalam characteristic movie Aarkkariyam was launched in 2021. … learn extra