No Power-Sharing, Only 25 Seats: Inside DMK-Congress Seat-Sharing Talks

The day after Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and DMK parliamentary party chief Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, she held further discussions on seat-sharing negotiations with Congress state in-charge Girish Chodankar at her residence on Monday. While none of the leaders have officially spoken about what transpired, sources say the Congress reminded the DMK of an unfulfilled promise of one Rajya Sabha seat, and the DMK is likely to concede to that demand. However, while the Congress is seeking the 41 assembly seats it contested in 2016, the DMK is sticking to the offer of 25 seats that it allotted to the Congress in 2021 assembly polls. Top sources say the DMK is categorically unwilling to go beyond two or three additional seats for the Congress. "26 or 27 at best, but we can't afford to give more," a source said.