After TN talks, Cong drives hard bargain in Puducherry

Chennai: After clinching the seat-sharing deal in Tamil Nadu following a prolonged negotiation, Congress and DMK have begun hectic parleys to arrive at a seat-sharing arrangement for Puducherry. While the Congress, asserting itself as the head of the alliance in the Union territory, wants to contest in 20 seats, five more than in the 2021 assembly poll, DMK too wants to contest more seats than in the previous election.

In 2021, Congress contested in 15 seats, DMK in 13, and CPI and VCK in one seat each. DMK won six while Congress secured two. Historically, the Congress contested more than 20 seats in Puducherry and now wants to return to that pattern. After settling for fewer seats than they expected in TN, Congress functionaries want the party to contest in enough number seats to ensure it forms a govt on its own.


The DMK, which was initially eyeing 18 seats, has scaled down its demand to 15. The Dravidian party's argument is that though it contested fewer seats last time, it had won more than the Congress. Hence, DMK functionaries feel that they should have seats proportionate to their strike rate.

After attending a meeting of the seven-member alliance coordination committee led by MP V Vaithilingam, AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar said adjustments were inevitable in alliances. He said while the DMK headed the alliance in TN, the Congress would lead the alliance in Puducherry. Two other allies, CPI and VCK, have also sought more seats. VCK wants three seats. After a meeting with local functionaries, Puducherry Leader of Opposition (DMK) R Siva also met senior leaders at the DMK headquarters in Chennai to discuss seat sharing.

Meanwhile, former chief minister V Narayanasamy on Sunday said he contacted Siva after Chodankar's instructions to begin talks with alliance partners. "I called him and asked when we could meet for discussions. I am yet to receive a response," he said indicating a stalemate.

He said the Congress traditionally led alliances in Puducherry under successive CMs, including Shanmugam, Farooq Maricar and V Vaithilingam. Narayanasamy declined to respond to remarks by some DMK leaders about forming a "Dravidian model govt" in the Union Territory.