From extreme left: Puducherry PCC President V Vaithilingam, Girish Chodankar, AICC in-charge, Anjali Nimbalkar, AICC secretary, co-incharge and former Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy at a press meet. File Photo: X|@INCPuducherry
Puducherry elections: DMK, Cong head for make-or-break seat-sharing talks
With DMK eyeing "Tamil Nadu Model" for the UT, Congress clinging to its historical pre-eminence, tomorrow’s neutral-ground talks will decide fate of this front
In a sudden, tactical shift aimed at ending the "Big Brother" rivalry between allies DMK and Congress in Puducherry, both the parties have agreed to hold their first formal seat-sharing negotiations on Saturday, March 14. The two sides have opted to conduct their talks at a neutral venue and away from their respective party headquarters.
This development has raised hopes that the prolonged deadlock in Puducherry may be resolved before it spirals out of control.
Congress leaders confirmed the meeting to The Federal late Thursday evening, stating that the venue dispute which had reduced both sides to a childish “ping-pong of pride” has now been settled.
“We will not hold talks at either the Congress or DMK office. A common neutral place has been finalised and there is every possibility that negotiations will take place tomorrow,” a senior Puducherry Congress functionary said.
Primary obstacle
This breakthrough comes as the primary obstacle is finally brought into focus: the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam (DMK)’s unwavering demand to contest 18 of the 30 Assembly seats. By laying its cards on the table, the Dravidian party has signalled a firm push for dominance, leaving the Congress to decide whether to yield its traditional leadership role in the Union Territory to keep the alliance intact
For more than four days, senior Puducherry Congress leaders camped in Delhi pressing the high command, while back home, the negotiation committees of both parties were locked in a standoff over several issues, including the venue for the meeting. Congress had insisted the DMK team come to its Pradesh Congress Committee office, while DMK leaders were equally adamant and insisted that the Congress should visit their headquarters.
This ego clash has now been set aside, and the path is clear for substantive discussions on seat-sharing, alliance leadership and the chief ministerial candidate.
A senior Congress source told The Federal: “The DMK is maintaining complete silence on our repeated invitations until now. In 2016, they got only nine seats; we cannot repeat that formula. Congress has formally demanded at least 20 seats. If they refuse to concede and instead stick to their 18-seat demand, our Delhi leadership has clearly told them that both parties should fight independently, and prove their strength on the ground. After which, a post-poll alliance can be formed to claim power.”
Leadership tussle
While the DMK-Congress alliance was sealed smoothly in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry has proved to be far more complicated. There have been several differences between the two parties on almost every front – from the exact number of seats to the explosive question “Who is the Big Brother here?” Congress upped the ante, protesting vociferously against the DMK’s delay tactics.
The seven-member Congress negotiation panel headed by Puducherry PCC president and Lok Sabha MP V Vaithilingam was formally conveyed to the DMK on March 5, with a request to begin talks in Puducherry itself. Yet, no response had come until this latest thaw.
At the heart of the crisis remains the long-standing leadership battle. Congress leaders, including AICC in-charge Girish Chodankar and former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, insisted on the “time-tested formula” – DMK leads in Tamil Nadu, Congress leads in Puducherry.
The DMK, however, is pushing hard to take the lead in the Union Territory as well. Having emerged as the principal Opposition with six MLAs against Congress’s two in the last Assembly, and securing nearly 18 per cent vote share in 2021 (compared to Congress’s 15 per cent), the party now wants to head the alliance.
DMK organising secretary and MP S Jagathrakshakan has repeatedly declared his desire to replicate the “Dravidian Model” government in the Union Territory.
Trigger for feud
The immediate trigger for the latest flare-up was the February 3 alliance coordination meeting called by Jagathrakshakan and organiser R Siva at DMK headquarters, which was attended by CPI, CPM and VCK leaders. Pointedly, the Congress was excluded.
In that meeting, VCK demanded three seats, CPI four and CPM two. Later, Jagathrakshakan defended the move, saying he would meet Congress separately and that top leadership would decide everything.
Former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy reacted sharply, “The DMK has convened an alliance meeting while completely bypassing Congress. Whatever decision the high command takes on the alliance, Congress will abide by it.” He revealed the issue was discussed at a recent Delhi meeting attended by Congress leadership, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, in which the party reiterated that the Tamil Nadu formula must be mirrored in Puducherry.
Puducherry goes to polls
Puducherry, a Union Territory with a 30-member Assembly plus three nominated members, goes to polls in 2026 alongside Tamil Nadu.
The current AINRC-BJP government faces a fragmented opposition with DMK being the largest group. Historically, Congress has been the dominant partner here, forming governments multiple times most recently under . Narayanasamy (2016–2021), while the DMK has not been part of any ruling coalition since 2000.
If tomorrow’s neutral-venue talks succeed, the INDIA bloc's partners, the Left and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, are expected to fall in line. But, if the deadlock continues, the Left parties and VCK may align behind DMK to form a separate front, while Congress would have to hunt for new allies.
Sources close the high commands of both parties, however, insist they “will not allow the Puducherry issue to spiral out of control”, after successfully resolving the much larger Tamil Nadu puzzle.
With the 2026 elections fast approaching, all eyes are now on tomorrow’s meeting. After weeks of ego clashes and public posturing, the two traditional allies seem prepared to bury the “Big Brother” rivalry, and present a united front. However, whether the seat-sharing arithmetic will push the alliance to the brink once again remains to be seen.
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