TN Assembly polls: KC Venugopal meets CM Stalin ahead of seat talks

Congress leader KC Venugopal met DMK chief MK Stalin in Chennai to kickstart seat-sharing talks for the 2026 Assembly polls. The DMK has formed a committee to negotiate with its allies, including Congress and IUML, for the upcoming elections.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal on Sunday met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin at his residence in Chennai ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections. Tamil Nadu Congress screening committee chairman TS Singh Deo was also present in the meeting.

This comes ahead of the seat-sharing discussions among the parties in the ruling DMK-led alliance. Tamil Nadu Congress President Selvaperunthagai K on Saturday said that the party is ready to discuss a seat-sharing formula with the DMK for the upcoming 2026 Legislative Assembly elections. Selvaperunthagai told ANI, "We are ready to talk to DMK for seat sharing and negotiation. The INDIA bloc is already a powerful alliance and is going to be more powerful. On February 22, they are calling smaller parties. Then they will call the major parties."

DMK Initiates Alliance Seat-Sharing Talks

Meanwhile, today, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) president KM Kader Mohideen met DMK representatives for seat-sharing talks and demanded five seats for the party.

DMK Forms Negotiation Committee

The DMK has constituted a committee to hold discussions with alliance parties regarding seat-sharing arrangements. The committee will be chaired by party Treasurer TR Baalu. Other members of the panel include Principal Secretary KN Nehru, Deputy General Secretaries Tiruchi Siva and A Raja, Organising Secretary RS Bharathi, and High-Level Executive Committee members EV Velu and MRK Panneerselvam.

Election Landscape and 2021 Recap

Three-Way Contest Expected in 2026

The 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly will go to the polls in the first half of 2026, where the MK Stalin-led alliance will look to project the 'Dravidian Model 2.0' for the win against the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Actor-turned-politician Vijay's entry with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is expected to turn the Tamil Nadu polls into a three-way contest.

2021 Assembly Polls Results

In the 2021 polls, the DMK won 133 seats in the 2021 Assembly polls. Congress won 18, PMK won five, VCK won four, and others won eight seats. The Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by DMK, which consisted of Congress, won 159 seats collectively. While the NDA won 75 seats, the AIADMK emerged as the largest party in the alliance with 66 seats. (ANI)

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