DMK offers 27 Assembly seats, awaits Congress response

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, marginally increased its bid to the Congress to 27 Assembly seats instead of the initial 25 and Rajya Sabha seats for the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu. The party is now waiting for Congress’ response to this.

The deadlock between Congress and DMK over seat sharing was eased thanks to the mediation of senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, who met and held discussions with DMK chief and Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai. The Congress is set to settle for 30 Assembly seats and one Rajya Sabha seat, but the DMK has increased its bid to just 27 seats.

The Prime Minister reportedly told Mr. Chidambaram that the issue could have been resolved much earlier if the Congress had appointed him as a mediator. He agreed to increase the number of seats to 27 “out of respect” for Mr Chidambaram.

According to sources, Mr. Stalin disclosed that the DMK has significantly strengthened its organization in the last five years and the social welfare measures implemented by his government have further strengthened public support.

The Chief Minister reportedly told Mr. Chidambaram, “DMK’s standing in the eyes of the people will go down if it reduces its seat share.”

Mr Chidambaram is now waiting for the response of the Congress high command in Delhi before resuming seat-sharing talks in his party. Meanwhile, DMK is expected to announce allotment of a Rajya Sabha seat to Premallatha Vijayakant-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam.