- Congress and DMK agreed on seat sharing for Puducherry assembly elections with 16 and 14 seats
- Both parties filed nominations for all seats before finalising their alliance deal on the last day
- In 2021, Congress won 2 seats out of 14 contested, DMK won 2 out of 13, with NR Congress-BJP winning
The Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) sealed deal for the Puducherry Legislative Assembly elections on the last day of filing nominations on Monday. While the national party will contest in 16 constituencies, the DMK will fight on 14 seats.
The understanding comes after days of hard bargaining by the two parties. Both had even filed nominations for all seats triggering a new level of tension.
In the 2021 assembly polls, Congress fought 14 seats but had won only 6 while it's ally, the DMK, fought 13 and won 2. The NR Congress-BJP alliance had captured power.
The Puducherry settlement comes after a long heated exchange between both parties in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Initially the DMK offered less than Congress's 2021 tally of 25 seats. The Congress was persistent and often loud in criticism and demanding share in power, leveraging on the possibility of aligning with actor Vijay's TVK. Ultimately the DMK offered 28 seats, and a Rajya Sabha ticket to the Congress.
The BJP too had its share of tussle with its major ally NR Congress which demanded assurance on statehood and objected to the inclusion of Latchiya Dravida Jananayaga Katchi (LJK), lead by Jose Charles Martin, son of lottery baron Santiago Martin. The BJP did not comply with both demands but a call from Home Minister Amit Shah changed. Sources in NR Congress say the BJP has assured to sort Chief Minister Rangasamy's concerns should the alliance return to power.
Puducherry is now set for a triangular contest with Actor Vijay's TVK making its debut in the former French colony.
(With inputs from Ansu Davey)
