The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is using a Rajya Sabha berth as a pressure tactic in its seat-sharing talks with the Congress ahead of the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, sources told India Today TV. The DMK has given the Congress time until March 6 to resolve the deadlock, signalling that failure to clinch a deal could cost the party a Rajya Sabha seat until next year, they said.
The move is being seen as a calculated ploy by the DMK to force the Congress into an early settlement amid differences over allocation of seats, and assert Chief Minister MK Stalin-led party’s dominance within the alliance.
Six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu are set to become vacant in April 2026. Of the six seats, four are held by DMK and the remaining two by AIADMK. The nomination process for filling up the vacant Rajya Sabha seats has already started.
DMK KICKSTARTS SEAT-SHARING TALKS WITH ALLIES
The DMK formally kicked off seat-sharing talks with its allies on February 22 as preparations gather pace for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls set to be held in April this year. As part of the outreach, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal met Chief Minister MK Stalin at his Alwarpet residence in Chennai, sources said.
The nearly 45-minute meeting was seen as an effort to smooth over recent strains between the two allies as negotiations over seat allocation intensify.
Alliance insiders said the Congress has pitched for a larger share of seats compared to the 2021 Assembly election, when it contested 25 constituencies under the DMK-led alliance. The DMK, however, is understood to have indicated a willingness to offer around 27 to 28 seats this time, citing the need to balance demands from multiple partners within the coalition.
Sources added that the DMK leadership made it clear that further negotiations would be conducted only through designated interlocutors, signalling a more structured approach and distancing itself from leaders it believes contributed to earlier disagreements within the alliance.
The talks are also taking place amid demands from sections of the state Congress unit for a share in governance, an idea Stalin has publicly rejected, arguing that such arrangements do not align with Tamil Nadu’s political framework.
The DMK held discussions with long-time ally the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which sought five seats, though the ruling party is said to have offered two to accommodate other partners. Further rounds of talks are expected with allies such as the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and actor-politician Kamal Haasan-led Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM).
The DMK currently leads the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu, which includes the Congress, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). With Tamil Nadu’s 234-seat Assembly expected to go to the polls in April, seat-sharing negotiations within the alliance are set to intensify in the coming weeks.
