Published Feb 22, 2026 | 6:35 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 22, 2026 | 6:35 PM
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and Chief Minister MK Stalin are set to meet on Sunday evening.
Synopsis: The DMK has begun seat-sharing talks with its allies ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly election, with discussions between KC Venugopal and Chief Minister MK Stalin central to the Congress position in the alliance. Congress leaders have sought more seats and a share in power, but the DMK has consistently ruled out power sharing. Amid this, speculation has grown that Congress could break away and instead join forces with Vijay Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam TVK.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu began seat-sharing talks on Sunday, 22 February, with its alliance partners for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Discussions were held with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), with reports suggesting the DMK is pressing to cut the IUML three seats from 2021 to two this time.
In the coming days, similar talks with the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India and others are set to take place.
But the most consequential talks are scheduled for Sunday evening between Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and Chief Minister MK Stalin.
The talks follow months of demands from Congress leaders in the state for more seats and, more importantly, a share of power.
The meeting has gained added significance amid speculation that Congress might break away if its demands are not met and instead align with Vijay Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), after party functionary Praveen Chakravarthy reportedly met Vijay in Chennai on 5 December.
Neither the DMK nor the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the two dominant parties in Tamil Nadu, has shared power with allies for decades. Several DMK functionaries and even ministers have openly said there will be no power sharing.
Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin himself said at a public event that the concept of sharing power does not work in Tamil Nadu.
Yet Congress leaders, particularly MP Manickam Tagore and Praveen Chakravarthy, have continued to demand power sharing publicly.
As early as November 2025, Congress formed a committee under Senior Leader Girish Chodankar to begin alliance talks. The party has alleged that the DMK was not coming forward for discussions.
At a meeting of Congress office bearers in Delhi, leaders were instructed not to speak publicly about the alliance.
On 17 February, when KC Venugopal arrived in Chennai to take part in events in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, some Congress workers held placards at the airport demanding “share in power” and “self respect”.
Later that evening, at a Congress rally and district leaders’ meeting in Mogappair, Chennai, similar posters were put up and then removed.
But speaking to the media later that evening, Venugopal shut down talk of Congress breaking away from the alliance.
“Just as we were in alliance with the DMK in the Parliamentary elections, we will remain in alliance with the DMK in the Assembly elections too,” he said.
“No one should speak publicly about the DMK–Congress alliance. If anyone does, it is their personal view and not the party stand.”
While the DMK has repeatedly said there is little chance of power sharing, Congress leaders have continued to insist that the party should at least be given more seats than it contested last time.
But reports from Senior DMK Leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi recent meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi suggest there may not be scope for that either.
“Talks have been held to offer up to 30+1 [a maximum of 30 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat],” a source close to Kanimozhi told South First.
Another source close to Congress MLA Selvaperunthagai said the alliance with the DMK is firm and that 27 seats will be given to the Congress. “A demand for more seats has been made, and the deadlock continues,” they added.
Sunday meeting between KC Venugopal and Stalin is significant because it involves the Congress committee led by Girish Chodankar, which has long alleged that the DMK has been cold to seat sharing talks.
Amid increasingly public demands by Congress leaders for power sharing, speculation has grown that the party may break away from the alliance.
“Whatever number of seats the Congress may demand, the DMK is not ready to give more than 27 seats,” Senior Journalist Priyan Srinivasan told South First.
In the last election, the DMK contested 188 seats and the Congress 25. Now, with more parties in the alliance, the DMK may reduce its own number to around 170. At the same time, it may ask some allies to cut their demands, he added.
Though MP Manickam Tagore has said he will not speak publicly, as instructed by the party leadership, his continued social media posts show he stands firm that a share in power is the party right and that it is not ready to give it up.
Sources close to the Congress leadership said recent speeches by Selvaperunthagai have also sounded soft towards Vijay, as he has not criticised Vijay or Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
At a recent district leaders meeting attended by KC Venugopal, Selvaperunthagai reportedly said the Congress would ensure victory for whichever alliance the party leadership decides to contest in. The remark has drawn attention because he had earlier asserted that the DMK–Congress alliance was firm.
Despite DMK leaders accusing Praveen Chakravarthy and Manickam Tagore of creating confusion within the alliance, the Congress high command has taken no visible action against them. As they continue to speak out, discussions on social media point to the possibility that such statements have the leadership approval.
DMK Spokesperson TKS Elangovan told South First that the party will win regardless of the Congress.
“It is not that we cannot win without the Congress. We will win in any case,” he added.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
