Alliance 'functioning smoothly': Tamil Nadu Congress chief denies rift with DMK for 2026 assembly polls

Chennai:

While reports have constantly pointed out that seat-sharing talks between Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu have hit a roadblock, grand old party's state unit chief has said that the alliance is 'functioning smoothly', as he denied reports of rift between the two INDIA bloc partners.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Congress' Tamil Nadu unit chief K Selvaperunthagai said party leaders have held talks with the DMK, which is the senior alliance partner in the state, and he is confident that Congress will be given the seats it has asked for. However, he noted that a final call will be taken by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the top brass.

"There is no rift in the DMK–Congress alliance, and the alliance is functioning smoothly," Selvaperunthagai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "The constituencies we have asked for will definitely be given. There is no doubt about it. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leaders have held alliance talks and conveyed their views to the All India Congress leadership. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will take the final decision." 

The alliance dilemma of Congress

A section of Congress leaders have urged the top brass to reconsider their alliance with the DMK. They want that the party should consider forming an alliance with actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). However, senior leaders, including TS Singh Deo who is party's chairperson of the screening committee for Tamil Nadu, have repeatedly stressed that Congress will continue its alliance with DMK and there are no fissures between them.

In the 2021 assembly elections, Congress was allotted 25 seats by the DMK. Of these, the party won 18 seats. The DMK had contested on 188 constituencies, winning 133 of them. 

BJP hits outs at Congress, DMK

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attacked the Congress-DMK alliance, with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asking why the INDIA bloc is hesitant over seat-sharing after staying in power together for five years.

"After five full years of claiming that they've done very good governance, Tamil Nadu's growth, Tamil Nadu has done this... very well, the state has done well. But why should there be that sense of insecurity now? Any number of people can enter electoral politics," she told news agency PTI earlier this week.