DMK, Congress seal seat allocation deal for Lok Sabha poll

Congress retains six of the nine T.N. constituencies it contested in 2019, while three other seats — Arani, Theni and Tiruchi have been replaced

The Congress will contest in the Tiruvallur (SC), Krishnagiri, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore, Karur, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari and Puducherry Lok Sabha constituencies as part of the INDIA bloc led by the DMK.

An agreement to this effect was signed between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai at the DMK headquarters in Chennai on Monday.

The Congress was allocated nine constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the lone constituency in Puducherry. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, too, the Congress contested in nine plus one seats, and won in all but the Theni constituency, where former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan lost to AIADMK candidate P. Ravindranath, son of expelled AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

As reported in The Hindu last week, the DMK has replaced three constituen

An agreement was signed between Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin and TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai at the DMK headquarters in Chennai on Monday

cies that were allotted to the Congress in 2019 — Arani, Theni and Tiruchi — with Cuddalore, Tirunelveli and Mayiladuthurai.

With DMK officebearers in Arani reportedly unhappy over sitting Congress MP M.K. Vishnu Prasad and his family members being given preference in the region for several years now, there had been a demand to field a DMK candidate this time around.

Fresh faces

In the Congress, too, there had been voices in favour of fielding fresh faces this time instead of veterans and family members of influential leaders.

While the DMK is entering the fray in Theni, the party has allotted the Tiruchi seat to the MDMK.

Former TNCC president K.S. Alagiri is likely to be fielded in Cuddalore and All India Professionals’ Congress chairman Praveen Chakravarthy is among the frontrunners in Mayiladuthurai.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Battle-ready: TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai showing the list of constituencies from where the Congress will contest the election this year.