Tamil Nadu: DMK, Congress tie up for Lok Sabha polls
What's the story
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Congress in Tamil Nadu have announced on Wednesday that they have forged a seat-sharing alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. DMK chief MK Stalin said Congress will fight from nine seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat from Puducherry. This comes a day after AIADMK and BJP finalized their tie-up and decided on their seat-sharing pact. Here's more.
Details
DMK in talks for an alliance with many parties
Stalin said DMK hasn't yet decided on its seat share and finalize after discussing with potential alliance partners. Sources said Congress was bargaining for 16 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats for Lok Sabha polls while Puducherry has only one LS seat. DMK is in talks for an alliance with many parties like CPI, CPI(M), Vaiko's MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and Indian Union Muslim League.
Congress
Going to have a very strong result: Congress General Secretary
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said they are positive about a "very good result". "We are looking at full number of seats from Tamil Nadu. We are going to have a very strong result," he said. He said Congress would soon finalize the nine seats it would contest on, adding, "Rahul Gandhi has given us clear instructions. We had informal talks with the DMK."
AIADMK-BJP
About TN's ruling AIADMK and BJP alliance
AIADMK and BJP announced their alliance on Tuesday. The two parties also roped Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) into the poll tie-up. BJP will have the least number of seats in the alliance; it would contest from 5 Lok Sabha seats while PMK would fight from seven seats. The number of AIADMK's seats is yet to be finalized; it's still in talks with some parties.
Quote
AIADMK alliance is money centric, not people centric: Stalin
"AIADMK alliance is money centric, not people centric. More than us, PMK has been critical of the AIADMK," said Stalin on AIADMK's alliance with BJP and PMK. The upcoming elections would be Stalin's first as DMK's chief after his father Karunanidhi's death in August 2018.