T.N. Assembly election: DMK to insist on action against Manickam Tagore, Praveen Charkarvarty before seat-sharing talks with Congress

Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the goodwill between the ruling DMK and its ally Congress has suffered a serious jolt following constant accusations leveled against the Dravidian party by a section of Congress leaders, especially Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore and incumbent Praveen Chakravarty.

It is reliably learned that the DMK leadership seems to have braced itself for the outcome, whatever that may be. “Our party leadership is not inclined to call the Congress for seat-sharing talks unless action is taken against the two functions,” said a senior DMK leader. Hindu On Monday, February 16, 2026.

“Our leader is upset. We are confident that Mr. Tagore will not target us and demand a share of power again and again without the approval of the Congress high command. How do you expect us to sit down with them and hold seat-sharing talks after Mr. Tagore criticized our leadership and party?” he asked the leader.

On Sunday, February 15, Mr. Tagore said the Congress shared the burden of the DMK’s mistakes (in 2014) and complained that the Dravidian party had not taken action against one of its district secretaries and minister in Madurai, who had gone so far as to say that the Congress was free to leave the DMK alliance. A resolution demanding power sharing was also passed in the meeting of the Madurai South district unit of the Congress, which was attended by Mr. Tagore.

The DMK leadership also suspects that the Congress may keep its options open as some leaders are reportedly interested in collaborating with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) launched by actor Vijay.

‘Leaving will benefit NDA’

A Congress MP admitted that Mr Tagore would not target the DMK without the approval of Rahul Gandhi or other leaders in Delhi. “As a party, we have the right to take political decisions. However, if we want to leave the alliance, we should have prepared the ground at least a year ago. If we leave now, it will only benefit the BJP-AIADMK alliance,” he said.

The MP also felt that if action is not taken against Mr. Tagore and Mr. Chakravarthy, Prime Minister and DMK president MK Stalin may not come forward to meet the Congress.

A DMK MP said that be it Kalaignar (M. Karunanidhi) or Thalapathy (Stalin), they have always been accommodating when it comes to the Congress and there is nothing that cannot be resolved through negotiation. “We have conveyed our stance to the Congress leadership that power sharing is not possible. The Prime Minister also made our position clear in a public forum. Still, the Congress leaders are deliberately making noise and this does not bode well for the alliance,” the DMK MP said.

When asked about his comments, TNCC president Selvaperunthagai said the high command had already warned leaders not to talk openly about the alliance. “A five-member committee has been constituted and the committee will hold seat-sharing talks with the DMK,” he continued.