Lok Sabha election 2024: DMK, Congress to hold seat sharing talks in Chennai today

The Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will kick off seat-sharing negotiations for the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu on Sunday. The seat sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be held at DMK Headquarters - Anna Arivalayam - in Chennai.

First, Senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik will hold a discussion with State leaders. Later Congress Leaders will meet the DMK Seat Sharing Committee at Anna Arivalayam.

According to a report by Deccan Herald, apart from Mukul Wasnik, the Congress team will also comprise Salman Khurshid, Ajoy Kumar, Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader K Selva Perunthagai.

The DMK panel will consist of Parliamentary Party leader T R Baalu, former Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, K N Nehru, I Periyasamy, and M R K Panneerselvam, A Raja and Tiruchi Siva.

The Congress is reportedly expecting the DMK to stick to the 2019 seat-sharing formula under which they got nine seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry.

Since 2004, Congress and DMK had an alliance, except between 2013 March and February 2016. The DMK-Congress alliance won in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2019 and 2021 and lost in 2011 and 2016.

Separately, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) offered 11 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X, "Our cordial alliance with the Congress is off to a good start with 11 strong seats. This trend will move forward with the winning equation. 'INDIA' team and 'PDA' (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) strategy will change history."

Subsequently, the Congress said constructive seat-sharing talks are on between senior party leader Ashok Gehlot and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and it will inform when a