A day after the seat-sharing talks hit a deadlock, with the Congress high command refusing to accept the DMK’s offer, former Union minister P. Chidambaram stepped in to ease the tension in the alliance. Chidambaram, who shook hands with the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, enquiring about his health at The Week’s The Tamil Nadu Leadership Summit: The Way Forward in Chennai on Monday, called on Stalin at his Chithranjan Avenue residence on Tuesday. Despite Chidambaram’s meeting, the stalemate in the alliance talks continued on Tuesday as the Congress high command was not ready to accept the numbers offered by the DMK, while the latter was adamant that it could not increase the number of seats from the existing 25.
In an hour-long meeting, Chidambaram, who was accompanied by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K. Selvaperunthagai, is said to have smoothened the impasse between the two parties. Both the Congress and the DMK want the alliance to continue, but there was a disagreement over the number of seats. The Congress, under its AICC in-charge, Girish Chodankar, started its demand with 60 seats for the party, which had apparently come down to less than 35, plus two Rajya Sabha seats. Initially, the DMK had offered one Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress, and the talks hinged on the number of seats to contest in the upcoming assembly polls.
“Both the parties want the alliance to continue. There was an impasse with regard to the number of seats. Talks are continuing, and our leader Stalin will take a decision that benefits both the parties. Our leader wants to resolve the issue amicably,” DMK spokesperson T.K.S. Elangovan told The Week.
According to party insiders, the DMK has agreed to 28 seats plus two Rajya Sabha seats for the Congress — one now and one in 2028 — during the talks on Tuesday. It is said that Chidambaram had directly spoken with AICC leader Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Stalin to come up with an amicable solution.
If the Congress does not come back before Wednesday morning with regard to the number of seats, the DMK will allot one to its new ally — DMDK. The DMDK on Tuesday declared Vijayakanth’s brother-in-law L.K. Sudheesh as the Rajya Sabha nominee from its party.
If the Congress responds positively to the offer given by the DMK, the national party will be given one seat, and the DMK will announce candidates for two out of the four seats that it has now. The last day for nominations to the biennial election is on March 5. A total of six seats from Tamil Nadu are falling vacant, out of which the DMK has four. For the Congress to retain its opposition stance in the Rajya Sabha, the seats offered by the DMK will apparently be an advantage.
According to sources, Stalin had explained to Chidambaram and Selvaperunthagai how crucial the 2026 election will be for the INDIA bloc and sought the Congress’s cooperation. The Congress, however, is not ready to come down from its demand of 41 seats that it was offered in 2016. Chidambaram, who met Stalin with the concurrence of Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjuna Kharge, is believed to have conveyed the Congress high command’s demand for an increase in the number. But the DMK leadership seems to have categorically said that it has to accommodate the other allies, and an increase in the number will lead to unnecessary confusion in the alliance.
Stalin is also believed to have conveyed to Chidambaram that he cannot wait beyond Wednesday morning as the nominations to the Rajya Sabha close on March 5. Sources also say that there is a divided opinion about the alliance among the Congress leadership itself. While Sonia and Kharge prefer to continue in the DMK alliance, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is still undecided.
