Published Mar 03, 2026 | 8:01 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 03, 2026 | 9:01 PM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin
Synopsis: With nominations set to open on 5 March for six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu, the DMK-led and AIADMK-led blocs, poised to retain four and two seats respectively, have yet to announce their candidates. While the AIADMK is expected to nominate one candidate and again allot the other seat to an ally, the composition of the DMK bloc’s nominations remains unclear amid fractious seat-sharing talks with the Congress.
With two days left for nominations to open on Thursday, 5 March for the biennial elections to fill six Rajya Sabha vacancies from Tamil Nadu, neither of the two dominant Dravidian parties has announced its candidates.
The 16 March elections will fill six vacancies arising from the end of the terms of four DMK members—NR Elango, Anthiyur P Selvaraj, Tiruchi Siva and Dr Kanimozhi NVN Somu—along with AIADMK member M Thambidurai and GK Vasan of its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress.
Given their strength in the Assembly, the DMK-led and AIADMK-led blocs are set to retain four and two seats respectively. But the composition of those seats remains unclear after weeks of seat-sharing talks.
The DMK is locked in fractious seat-sharing talks with the Congress. The Grand Old Party has demanded more than 40 seats for the upcoming Assembly elections, along with two Rajya Sabha nominations, up from the DMK’s offer of 25 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat, the same as before the 2021 elections.
After weeks of public demands, a section of state Congress leaders is said to have prevailed on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to move away from the DMK bloc in favour of alternatives ahead of the Assembly polls. Even so, the DMK appears unwilling to back down.
“If the Congress agrees to our proposal before nominations begin, they will get the seat. Otherwise, we will field our own candidate,” a senior DMK leader told South First.
But the party may offer an alternative. “DMK is likely to allocate one Rajya Sabha seat for 2026 and another for 2028,” a Congress source said.
Even as talks with the Congress continue, the DMK has already assured one Rajya Sabha seat to its ally, the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), under a prior electoral understanding.
On Tuesday evening, LK Sudhish, senior DMDK leader and brother-in-law of Premalatha Vijayakanth, signed an agreement to that effect with Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin at the party headquarters, Arivalayam, in Chennai.
Sudhish is likely to be the DMDK’s nominee, though a final decision will be taken after discussions on Wednesday, former MLA and senior DMDK leader B Parthasarathy earlier told South First.
If the DMK allots one seat to the Congress, it will have two seats left for its own nominees.
Uncertainty hangs over the renomination of Tiruchi Siva, the DMK’s Rajya Sabha floor leader.
Party sources said J Constandine Ravindran, who joined the DMK after leaving the DMDK in 2016, is among the names under serious consideration. Former Rajya Sabha member Pudukottai MM Abdullah is also in the fray.
Rekha Priyadarshini, a women’s wing functionary from Salem and a former mayor, is also being considered.
From the AIADMK, M Thambidurai has been tipped for re-nomination, while the party is expected to again allot one of its two seats to an ally.
