Putting an end to weeks of speculation, the Congress has announced a five-member committee to initiate seat-sharing talks with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2026 Assembly election.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram welcomed the move, saying it would end unnecessary rumours regarding the alliance and also reflected the unity of the alliance in the state.
The newly formed committee will be led by AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Girish Chodankar. The other members include party leaders Suraj Hegde and Nivedith Alva, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai, and Congress Legislative Party leader S Rajeshkumar.
According to party sources, the committee is expected to meet DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin soon to formally begin discussions on the 2026 alliance.
The announcement also comes at a time when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent telephonic conversation with TVK chief Vijay after the Karur tragedy triggered speculation about a possible Congress–TVK alliance.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin had already indicated that the Congress remains firmly within the DMK alliance. Sharing the stage with Congress MLA from Sriperumbudur K Selvaperunthagai recently, he made a sarcastic remark that even if the TNCC chief stepped out briefly due to an emergency call, “Congress is in the DMK alliance". "Media may wait to write that Udhayanidhi is upset or Selvaperunthagai is absent, but that won't happen," he had said.
The Congress has contested the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2021 Assembly election in alliance with the DMK. In the 2021 polls, the party won 18 out of the 25 seats it contested.
