T.N. Assembly election: Lack of co-ordination, old practices posing challenges to DMK alliance, feel Congress leaders

As the DMK is yet to form a committee to discuss and finalize seat sharing with its allies for the upcoming Assembly elections, members of the Congress’s Tamil Nadu negotiating committee will meet the party’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, to brief him about the latest developments.

When DMK Parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi met Mr. Gandhi in New Delhi recently to sort out differences, he reportedly asked why the DMK was yet to form a committee despite the Congress delegation meeting DMK president and Prime Minister MK Stalin on December 3, 2025. Senior Congress sources in New Delhi and Tamil Nadu said the leadership was upset with the DMK’s indecisive stance.

Participating in the seat-sharing exercise, the leader said, “They are still stuck in the old ways of doing politics. They want to start negotiations only after the election is announced. In fact, I am telling the DMK leadership to start talking to alliance partners even if they do not want to start negotiations immediately.” “They want to delay this and force allies to make decisions at the last minute,” he added.

DMK’s stance

DMK sources, however, citing a “cordial meeting” between Mr Gandhi and Ms Kanimozhi, said the Congress would continue to remain in the alliance. Mr. Stalin had recently informed Left party leaders that he hoped the Congress would remain in the alliance.

On the Congress’ demand for formation of a seat-sharing committee, a source close to the DMK’s first family insisted that these panels have traditionally been formed after the Model Code of Conduct came into force. A DMK leader claimed that the Congress formed its committee early primarily to dispel rumors that it might align with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).

Meanwhile, the DMK and the State government continue to hold conferences and launch government projects in Tamil Nadu; The Chief Minister is currently on an extensive tour of the State. The government is also preparing for the presentation of the interim budget this month.

In a related development, a senior Congress leader alleged that there was “serious lack of coordination” among the DMK-led alliance and this was only adding to the problems further.

He was referring to the joint announcement of the Left parties comprising CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) and VCK that they would fully support the nationwide strike called by Central unions, labor federations and farmer unions on February 12. He said such a decision to support the protest, without DMK and Congress, was a huge embarrassment for the alliance.

“On the one hand, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (AIADMK leader), Anbumani (PMK), GK Vasan (TMC) and others are uniting on the same stage and displaying a united opposition against the INDIA bloc, we are yet to bring all the leaders together on the same stage. This does not bode well for the alliance,” he said.

Reached on the issue, VCK general secretary D. Ravikumar said: “VCK was part of such a call to action made by Left parties nationally. This is one such example. Left parties made such calls without other allies of the INDIA bloc.”